This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Plan B
Plot Overview
In the
2013 film “Escape
Plan” we met contractor Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) who tested
the vulnerability of prisons by allowing himself to be incarcerated
in them and trying to break out. In EscPlan2 a consortium of prisons has quit using him after
he cost them too much business and has instead retained his fired
agent Jaspar Kimbral (Wes Chatham) who runs High Asset Detention Service
(HADES) housing
various individuals for interrogation. Some masked clowns
have captured oriental businessman Yusheng Ma (Chen Tang) and his
cousin, de facto bodyguard Shu Ren (Huang Xiaoming) who's a member
of Ray's team. He must apply what he's learned to get them out.
The prison
yard has been succeeded by a central arena called “the Zoo”
where (mismatched) gladiator contests are held. The winner is rewarded
with sanctuary time inside a pleasant pod; the loser—or anyone
who refuses to fight—is made to suffer. This system of punishment
and reward is supposed to soften up the inmates. Eventually Ray tracks
down his man and allows himself to be taken there. Thus ensues
an ego contest between Ray and Kim.
Ideology
Ray had earlier fired Kim for not being a team player; his opportunistic side adventure during a hostage rescue in Chechnya had made him 40 seconds late for a rendezvous costing them the life of a hostage. Teamwork is the theme of the movie, along the lines of, (Eccl. 4:9-12) “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” The two cousins in HADES have each other's backs and by and by they're joined by a third member of Ray's team, Luke Graves (Jesse Metcalf). In the earlier Chechen prison scene where fires warm the guards, the women prisoners congregate together for warmth, along the lines of an Alfred Elwes adventure:
My sister … Faustina smiled and drawing me near her, wrapped her large travelling cloak around us both, and thus nestled close together … we passed through the Strait of Gibraltar. (19–21)
Production Values
“” (2018) was directed by Steven C. Miller. It was written by Miles Chapman (who also co-wrote the first film). It stars Sylvester Stallone, Dave Bautista and Xiaoming Huang, supported by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Jaime King, Jesse Metcalfe, Titus Welliver and Wes Chatham. The plot drags along and so did they.
The lengthy prison scenes are bleak:
gray walls & gray uniforms as befit a prison. Ray for his history
of (voluntary) incarcerations enjoys a similarly spartan office—coal
miners for their long hours underground are likewise known
for their lack of decorations above. The one bright note is a good
looking office worker Abigail Ross (Jaime King) so complimented by Ray.
Ray assiduously practices a Chinese tone-based dialect but has a long ways to go, unlike Luke who started at age four and is fluent. The Chinamen and -women speak English with an exotic accent. Hush (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson) their black in-house hacker speaks the King's English with what's known as 'lazy diction'; we observe in the closeups he can't seem to get his negroid lips around the consonants. I'm not sure how Ray was able to understand him on his tooth phone, perhaps from reading the script. Ray's deep bass voice is in contradistinction to the borderline shrill ones of the women he works with.
MPAA rated it R for violence and language. In the U.S. it was released directly to DVD. The cosmetic makeup seemed phony but suitable for the hokey plot. The production was not what one would deem praiseworthy. Runtime is 1 hour 36 minutes.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
This is not a religious movie pre se, but the prisoners escaping HADES through the floor of a cathedral make it Christian-friendly. Jesus did come to set the captives free. This is more a sleepy-bye film than a rousing matinee. There are more exciting ones available.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Decent action scenes. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Well, at least you can't see the strings. Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day. Suspense: Predictable. Overall movie rating: Three stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Elwes, Alfred. Perils Afloat and Brigands Ashore. London: Cassell & Company, Limited, 1886. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org