In the first Escape Plan movie that released in 2013, the main attraction was the Schwarzenegger/ Stallone combo which did help the film to gather in some viewers especially in the Chinese market. That film did not pack much punch in the action domain compared to the some of the innovative entries in the genre; but its main draw was the chemistry of the aging stars. Escape Plan 2: Hades is a rather low budget attempt to generate further cash on that concept as it brings in Stallone and also Dave Bautista to attract the audiences. The director Steven C. Miller does have some rather sub par action films under his belt and this movie does no service to brighten up his resume.

In terms of storytelling, the screenplay by Miles Chapman brings out nothing new on table. Stallone reprises his role as Ray Breslin who is heading a team of prison experts in Atlanta. The main protagonist is one of the members of his team Shu (Xiaoming Huang) who has a cousin named Yusheng (Chen Tang). Yusheng is a genius innovator and one of his satellite inventions is coveted by a rival corporation. Both of them are then kidnapped from Bangkok and put into a brutal prison that is supposed to be inescapable. The prison provides a bigger challenge to Breslin and his team with its ever changing design and a villainous mastermind behind it. The plot drags along becoming quite predictable in the end and by the time Stallone enters the main frame of the prison, the movie has already lost its appeal.

It is evident that action movies of this sort do not usually bank on their story telling prowess but rather on delivering some well exciting fight sequences and thrills that can get the audience breathlessly pass and hour and half. Escape Plan 2 does not succeed on that front in any way and fails to provide even a few interesting scenes worth a notice. Not only does it fail offer anything new, it does not even bother to package the old stuff into something worth the time. Viewers watching it on a home screen can easily fast forward through some of the scenes without missing much.  Stallone walks and delivers with a sombre face and at times it appears that he is bored even more than the audience.

The lack of the Schwarzenegger and Stallone pairing makes the movie lose the primary attraction which the earlier one had. The focus is kept on Shu for most of the time and Stallone’s Breslin remains mostly on the sidelines. Xiaoming Huang’s screen presence as an action hero is not sufficient to provide enough momentum to the movie and though he has got the moves, the hand to hand combat choreography is nothing special. In the age of action stars like Scot Adkins, Iko Uwais and others, fight choreography with the right camerawork can change the impact of a movie; but this film does not seem to have the budget or even the intentions to do that.

Dave Bautista comes in almost as a guest artist and the movie does not provide sufficient time for him and Stallone to work together to deliver a few memorable moments. Escape Plan 2 is mostly shot indoors giving the audience a claustrophobic feel from which they would no wonder want to escape. Some of the effects do make it look really cheap and rather out of place in today’s movie scenario where special effects are of such high standards.

Escape Plan 2: Hades is a forgettable action movie like many others but it is sad to see Stallone’s name attached to it. It is an easy vehicle for Sylvester Stallone to earn a few millions more but an icon of action movies like him definitely deserves something better and so does his fans. A third installment of the series is already on the cards and hopefully it will bring back him and Bautista on the center stage if  things need to get somewhat better. This is a movie only for die hard Stallone fans and those who are looking to pass an evening with a good action flick, there are better choices out there for that.

 

 Teleratz rating: Poor

 

 

By Teleratz team

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