In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US president crash-lands inside, war hero Snake Plissken has 24 hours to bring him back.
The movie proudly wears its affection for crusty Sergio Leone archetypes and countdown-clock suspense sequences; Carpenter was Tarantino long before Tarantino was.
– Joshua Rothkopf,
Time Out New York,
23 Jul 2013
rotten:
It's a rare film that has so many ideas and yet fails so consistently to make use of them.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
5 Jun 2007
fresh:
A solidly satisfying actioner.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
5 Jun 2007
fresh:
It's a toughly told, very tall tale, one of the best escape (and escapist) movies of the season.
– Vincent Canby,
New York Times,
30 Aug 2004
rotten:
When the final credits roll, you can be forgiven a vague sense of dissatisfaction, because the creativity that went into formulating the premise was never extended to the script writing stage.