Rating: 4/5
Cult Movie Challenge 2016 | 13/52 | 70s Disaster
— You're an animal — No, worse. Human
Stonehaven Maximum Security Prison, Alaska, USA
Oscar Mannheim, or Manny (Jon Voight), is a life-term prisoner. After two escape attempts, the warden welded him to his cell for three years.
After Manny wins a civil rights case against the prison, Associate Warden Ranken reluctantly lets Manny out of the hole and into the yard.
Manny makes a promise to his boys that he’s going break out of there. He needs some time.
Ranken gets another prisoner to stab Manny. So Manny has to move up his escape plan to mid-winter.
Buck (Eric Roberts) sneaks Manny out with the laundry. But Buck doesn’t want to stay behind, so he follows Manny out, not realizing the extent of what it takes to escape prison and survive in the world.
They make it to a train station and trainhop. The conductor has a heart attack and falls off the train, leaving it speeding down the tracks. And it’s only getting faster.
The film explores a few themes. One of the major ones is prison life versus the outside world. Some folks try to break out and get caught. Some get their release and still wind up back in prison. Prison doesn’t teach humans how to live in the world.
When Buck gets out, he has a vision of Vegas and women. Manny, on the other hand, sees a life of menial work and swallowing pride because anything is better than the prison he experienced.
It also explores what it means to be a hero and how individual metrics can vary. The inmates see Manny as a hero because he stood up to the man and won. But Manny is an isolated, self-serving creature, and when the opportunity comes, he may not do what you expect.
Jon Voight and Eric Roberts are great. Manny and Buck’s relationship is tenuous at best, so their tension never eases. Manny is used to being a loner and a realist, and Buck is a loudmouth with his head in the clouds.
I won’t spoil how Rebecca De Mornay enters the story, but she’s stellar.
The effects and stunts are a standout! This movie has aged so well in that regard. The train feels like a horrifying, unstoppable monster.
Holy shit, that ending.
This movie is so fun and satisfying! I’ve seen many similar films growing up, but this puts just enough moving pieces in place and develops compellingly.
I wasn’t sure I was going to get from this what other folks have, but I liked this!