Escape From New York product reviews

Escape From New York is a movie I grew up loving, but one that had my mum had her way, I wouldn't have seen as young as I did (naughty dad).

In a post-apocalyptic world filled with crime and violence, the entire city of Manhattan has been transformed into a prison. Here, the prisoners are sent once they are banned from society and are forced to stay a life sentence to fight on their own. A crisis occurs when the President has been kidnapped and is being held hostage in the prison. The only chance they have is a former war hero turned outlaw, Snake Plissken and so they make him a deal that if he can bring back the President alive, all of the charges against him will be dropped but he has only 24hrs or Snake will die.

John Carpenter has done a terrific job of painting a dark and bleak picture of law enforcement as we know it. At the same time, he does an excellent job of creating a successful and subtle satire of law and authority. Kurt Russell does a fantastic job as the mono-toned "Snake Plissken. He makes the role his own and stands out as one of my favourite anti-heroes in film. All of the right ingredients to make a successful and exciting film are there.

Whilst the specific date this is set in annoys me (personal pet peeve) since this is set nearly twenty years ago, but still a good one to watch.