Amazon.com video review:
In the future, crime is out of control and New York City is a
maximum security prison. Grabbing a bargaining chip right out of the
air, convicts bring down the President's plane in bad old
Gotham. Gruff Snake Plissken, a one-eyed warrior new to prison life,
is coerced into bringing the President, and his cargo, out of this
land of undesirables. Kurt Russell put his Disney days behind him as
the nicest bad guy in the picture. All comic-book sensibilities and
macho posturing, this is one of writer-director John Carpenter's
better brainless escapes. There are snappy one-liners and explosive
action scenes. However, the film lacks tension and some believability
even within the realm of SF fantasy. Even when it fails to gel,
though, it always manages to amuse, thanks in great part to a varied
and unusual supporting cast (watch for Ernest Borgnine as a
cabdriver). Followed in 1996 by Carpenter's overdone and campy Escape from L.A.
--Rochelle O'Gorman
