+++ Opinion +++
He is a three-time Oscar contender and an icon of action cinema – as well as a walking piñata: Sylvester Stallone. The actor, director, producer and screenwriter with a gruff voice has a robust, clearly defined image. Still, you never really know what you’re going to get with him. Projects that take themselves seriously, amusement dripping with irony and tasteful fan service stand alongside massive wasteland and gross nonsense full of involuntary comedy in Stallone.
One of these cinematic mistakes is on free TV today – and we would like to warn against tuning in not only because of the film quality. Because RTL II will show the FSK 18 actioner “Escape Plan 3” on October 7, 2022 from 10:05 p.m. – in a shortened FSK 16 version!
When Daya (Melise), the daughter of tech mogul Wu Zhang (Russell Wong), is kidnapped in a Latvian prison complex, there’s no question: escape expert Ray Breslin (Stallone) has to come! He quickly finds out that there is more to the case than he thought. Because the perpetrator is Lester Clark Jr. (Devon Sawa), whose father Breslin clashed with years ago. So the old warhorse muscle man Trent Derosa (Dave Bautista) and surveillance expert Hush (Curtis Jackson aka 50 Cent) get on board to ensure law and order. With the life of Breslin’s partner Abigail Ross (Jaime King) also at stake, things quickly get personal…
In 2013, the prison action thriller Escape Plan led to a rare co-screen appearance by Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. In a supporting role, rap icon Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent, was able to compete with the action veterans. In 2018, “Escape Plan” got a direct-to-video sequel – without Schwarzenegger, but with Dave Bautista. The wrestler and actor known as Drax from “Guardians Of The Galaxy” only acted in a minor role, just like Stallone, despite a prominent placement on the DVD cover. Angry tongues would say: They acted as mere audience bait.
Apparently even the bait was sorry: Stallone called “Escape Plan 2: Hades” the worst production he’s ever been a part of. In the same breath, he vowed that “Escape Plan 3: The Extractors” will be much better, even picking up on its action heydays! Now, it’s impossible to tell if Stallone really felt such optimism, or if it was just promotional gibberish. On the other hand, more concrete statements can be made about the finished product – which unfortunately are not rosy at all.
After all: The third part, which advertises Stallone, Bautista and 50 Cent, is not such a sham as the second part. So this time Stallone can be seen in more than a blown-up cameo, but plays a leading role. But that doesn’t make up for the fact that the production, which was created under enormous time pressure, is just this hectic throughout. Above all, the action scenes are mostly uninspired choreographed and staged, which is why at best the occasional violent spikes provide a few milliseconds of life on the screen.
The sporadic heaviness is implemented quite banally, but given the desolate, wide and empty locations, it remains a rare ray of hope in the action thriller. Even the first “Escape Plan” was anything but a highlight of Stallone’s work, but the main setting definitely made a difference. In “Escape Plan 3”, on the other hand, the characterless locations kill any mood, adapting them to the main characters, which are just as lamely sketched.
Or, to put it in the words of the DashFUN review: “Stallone was publicly ashamed of ‘Escape Plan 2’. Such an apology would also be appropriate for the third part.”
