2012 Review #26: Lockout

 

Lockout

Rated PG-13

1 Hour 35 Minutes

Starring

Guy Pierce

Maggie Grace

Vincent Regan

Lennie James

Peter Stormare

Story

A man wrongly convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage against the U.S. is offered his freedom if he can rescue the president's daughter from an outer space prison taken over by violent inmates.

Rotten Tomatoes Score

36%

 ("Guy Pearce does the best he can with what he's given, but Lockout is ultimately too derivative and shallow to build on the many sci-fi thrillers it borrows from")

My Grade

C-

I don't really have a whole lot to say about Lockout. It could be because I'm not in a writing mood tonight. Which I suppose isn't fair for the movie I'm reviewing...but Lockout doesn't have much to go on. Not to say it's a horrible movie, because it isn't. I've seen much worse action movies. Lockout though doesn't offer anything all that new or interesting to action movies or sci-fi movies. I do like the premise though of the prison in space where the prisoners are in stasis. Although, it doesn't seem like much of a punishment if they are sleeping the whole time. 

 At any rate, the movie offers some fun, legit action moments and Guy Pierce (Memento, LA Confidential) is great in the lead role. He's funny and tough and just plain likeable. He should do more roles like this. Maggie Grace (TV's Lost, Taken) is OK but was hard to take her seriously as...whatever she was supposed to me. A brainy doctor/Presidents daughter. The whole storyline involving her and her wanting to uncover the medical mistreatment of the prisoners was kind of wasted and pointless. They barely made mention of it. The Guy Pierce conspiracy storyline was also so nonchalantly put into the story up until the end when the big bad guy is revealed (how could you not see that one coming?)...it just seemed so unfitting. The prisoners were kind of cool but their plan and roles in the movie were just thrown together with the two other story lines and the whole thing was just muddled and all over the place. To much going on.

But this is a mindless action movie, you can't expect great things from it's story. If you want action, you will get it with this movie. Sometimes it takes a while to get to the cool stuff, and all the in between scenes are to silly and boring for my liking. Not all the stunts were fun, but for the most part, it works well. This is just another one of those action flicks that's enjoyable the first time if you don't feel like using your brain at all. But honestly, it will be forgettable.