Film:Lockout
Release Date:Apr. 13th
Studio:Open Road Films
Grade:B-
Lockout is the latest addition to the stereotypical "one man on a mission" movies, which have been a staple in the action genre for decades. Despite being placed in this overused genre, Lockout almost succeeds; the characters are established enough for the audience to become emotionally invested in their storyline, and the action scenes are enticing, but what would solidify this as a high-class space thriller would be a more realistic pace to the storyline.
The "one man" this time around is crude vigilante Snow (Guy Pearce, Seeking Justice), who is well-received by the audience but ironically hated by other characters in the film. Most of Snow's dialogue is accented by sarcastic one-liners, an approach more popular in TV sitcoms than action films. The movie opens with Snow undergoing an interrogation, followed by a strike to the face. He takes the abuse valiantly, laughing at his attacker and cracking a joke immediately after.
Snow's storyline focuses on a rescue mission involving the President's daughter, Emilie (Maggie Grace, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part One), from a prison in space overrun by dangerous inmates. Placing the prison in space helps stray away from the stereotypical action movie formula, even if its location works as a last resort.
The inmates are led by the husky Alex (Vincent Regan, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance), and his tattooed, one-eyed first mate Hydell (Joseph Gilgun, Screwed). These villains provide a refreshing change in the film, mainly because they are genuine antagonists and don't fit into the stereotype of villains with British, German, or Russian accents.
But Hydell steals the show and is easily the most memorable character of the film - he is an original villain with an original face. He takes each step with a menacing stagger; his remaining eye is busy and shifts about looking to kill. If Alex's character had more depth and the spotlight focused on the confrontation between Snow and Hydell, the film could have worked better.
Lockoutalso failed with its spatial relations - the movie shows no clear physical distinction between the characters, what they were doing, and where. It would have been beneficial to include an overwhelming shot of the prison orbiting the atmosphere, to fully illustrate how it is structured. Instead, the prison is rapidly depicted piece-by-piece, lacking precise detail as to where exactly the characters are.
The entire film is similar to an accelerating roller coaster without a brake. Each scene is filmed with high enthusiasm, but the enthusiasm runs short each time because the scene ends abruptly. It seems to rush to the finish instead of steadily pacing there.
But Lockout is partially saved from complete abomination by the performances from actors who are all type-casted, but casted well. Pearce plays both the action stud and comic relief so convincingly that he should be casted in more "One Man" movies. And if Gilgun continues to nail roles like these, he should easily gain popularity in Hollywood.
This is the first Hollywood feature film for directing duo James Mather and Stephen St. Leger (Pretty Alone), who also wrote the screenplay. This film should be treated as their trial run, hopefully serving as a study guide for what notto do in the future.
But Lockout is still a worthy sight. The film is a simple 90-minute fun time at the movies. If there was ever a film to save 10 bucks on by waiting for it to release at Redbox or Netflix, this is definitely the one.
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