Film Review: Lockout {{2012}}

The saying goes, don't judge a book by it's cover and this movie appeared to be appealing via the commercials.  So I thought "what the hell? Why not give it a try".  I love watching all sort s of movies.  It's not horror or strange creature flicks....I do enjoy action movies as well. 

Lockout

~~Warning Spoilers Ahead~~

The opening of the film we find, Snow {{Guy Pearce}} being questioned and hit over the murder of undercover agent Frank Armstrong.  Secret Service Director Scott Langral {{Peter Stormare}} keeps getting a series of off the wall banter and horrible jokes.
There is a flash back scene about what happened with the death of Frank Armstrong and a mystery case that Snow managed to give to his friend/contact Mace.  When Langral finally threatens him with incarcerated on the maximum security space prison MS One.  Snow's Agent friend Harry Shaw {{Lennie James}} learns that Mace has the case and tries to locate him.
Granted, Emilie Warnock {{Maggie Grace}} daughter of the US President Warnock, is doing a good-will mission to MS One to investigate that they are being used to uncover the deep space exploration tactics but by using the prisoners.  The Warden tells that she will talk to a couple of prisoners and go ahead and green light the project.  They go into this interrogation where they question a derange prisoner, Hydell {{Joesph Gilgun}}.  But of course like normal when they say there is no weapons beyond a certain point.  The stupid bodyguard, Hock {{Jacky Ido}} who gets a bit heated when Hydell gets unruly about answering Emilie's questions. Of course Hydell gets Hocks gun and bam!! A blast!!  Very predictable.
Naturally it becomes very predictable after that.  Hydell has the technician release all the prisoners.  Alex, {{Vincent Regan}} Hydell's older brother takes control of the situation and turning all the technicians and including Emilie hostages.
Langral goes to President Warnock about the situation.  Shaw convinces President Warnock and Langral to send Snow to retrieve Emilie.  At first Snow doesn't agree till Shaw let's him know that Mace happens to be there, because when he last saw Mace...he was at the train station.  Granted it's the whole shit happens.  Mace puts the case in a locker and tries to get away gracefully, but accidentally kills/shots a cop when he gets bumped into by a fellow pedestrian and the gun falls to the floor.
Langral sends someone to try to do a negotiation about getting Emilie, but that fails and they send in Snow.  Emilie and Hock get away and get trapped in a room.  Hock has to take his own life to save Emilie giving her more oxygen.  Snow rescues her, but naturally in this bad attitude that makes me believe I have seen this behavior before.  Of course every the times I have seen this movie to get a better understanding of the acting and so forth.  I think Brad Pitt has played this sort of character before and when I see Snow, I think of Brad Pitt versus Guy Pearce.
Snow takes Emilie to get her leg better, but finds out that Alex has informed all the prisoners on MS One that she is the Presidents daughter. Snow drags her along with him and hides her identity with a prison make over and then drags her to find Mace.  They find Mace, but he is experiencing dementia because of the stasis and it's really strange because he wasn't under stasis too long.  Snow tries to get the information out of him about the missing case but of course the International Space Station crashes into MS One because the Warden isn't there to control it since he was shot into space.
Since the International Space Station crashed into MS One, there is a little problem that causes Mace to be killed but revealing in a incoherent manner the whereabouts of the case. Snow is devastated and takes Emilie to the escape pod to realize it was really a one-way ticket for one person.  That Langral had sent him to his death.  Snow playing anti-hero sends Emilie away, but of course he acts shocked that she isn't on there.  But Emilie uses the information that Mace told her where the case is and using herself as leverage that her father wouldn't destroy MS One if she was on it to help rescue the other hostages.
Hydell contacts Emilie while Alex is on a hunting trip to find her and threatens to kill the hostages if she doesn't allow her whereabouts known.  Snow tells her not to give her location but as any stupid uppity-class would do is give the whereabouts and Hydell kills them all.  Emilie is torn by the actions and confesses to Snow that Mace didn't tell her where the case is.
Snow and Emilie discover that the hostages were not innocent and they was using the prisoners as illegal test subjects.  Alex finds them and takes Emilie after shooting Snow and leaving him for dead.  Which is typical. When Alex learns that Hydell has killed all of the hostages, he beats Hydell and contacts the President threatening to allow Hydell and the prison population to rape Emilie if they are not released. The President refuses to allow a siege and risk Emilie, causing Langral to temporarily relieve him of his command. Langral orders the destruction of MS One.
Hydell tries to rape Emilie as promised, but is stopped by Alex. Infuriated he stabs Alex in the heart causing him to die. Emilie fights back and Hydell attempts to stab her, but he is incapacitated by Snow. Snow and Emilie flee from the prisoners and Hydell. Meanwhile Langral's men plant a bomb on the prison. Snow and Emilie use space suits and jump from the ship as it detonates, destroying the prison. The suits allow the pair to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and land safely in New York City.
Snow is arrested. Emilie later realizes that Mace's seemingly incoherent rambling was the location of and password needed to access the locker where Frank's briefcase is being held. Armed with the briefcase, Snow meets with Shaw. Shaw immediately unlocks it to see the evidence, but finds it empty.
Snow allows Shaw to know that he is amazed that Shaw knows the combination of the briefcase.  Shaw is revealed as the mole and arrested, but is marked with Frank's lighter under the left eye for being a rat.. Snow is released and his possessions returned. Snow finds a memory card containing the real secret information hidden within it. Emilie meets Snow and teases him, having learned his first name is Marion. The pair walk away together giving each other wise cracks.

~Production Notes~
Lockout also known as MS One: Maximum Security is a 2012 French Science Fiction film that is directed by James Mather and Stephen St. Leger  Written by James Mather, Stephen St. Leger and Luc Besson. Most of the filming took place in Belgrade, Serbia and was released in April 2010 in the US. 


~Final Thoughts~
This film was very lack luster and upon reviewing the film for the first time, I felt like I had already seen this.  Guy Pearce's character Snow was so predictable and as I watched it.  I couldn't help but think that Brad Pitt would have played a better asshole.
I knew what was going to happen before it happened...and I really found myself looking at the clock as to when it was going to end.  Yes, there was some funny one-liners but it wasn't enough.  Agents getting double crossed as been played hard by the Mission Impossible movies with Tom Cruise which all have been some bad rendition of Snake Plisskin bbeing double crossed and still comes out. 

~Ratings~
Each film is rated individually

~Hellz Writer~