Escape Plan feels like a bit of an action throwback and leans into the escapist (pun intended) entertainment of the 80s and early 90s. And what better way to do that than with two of the biggest stars of the 80s Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Stallone plays Ray Breslin, a professional escape artist. He works for clients, mainly the Department of Corrections, to ensure that their prison facilities are escape-proof. He runs a company with Lester Clark (Vincent D’Onofrio), Abigail (Amy Ryan – an actor I always delight in seeing on screen) and Hush (Curtis Jackson). When Jessica Miller (Catriona Balfe) shows up with a new assignment, everyone but Ray and Lester seem a little hesitant about it.

The assignment will involve Ray being taken to a prison in an unknown location, a prison that isn’t supposed to exist, a prison where governments put people they want disappeared. And now, they want to see if Ray can break out of it.

Or do they? Maybe someone wants him out of the way?

Honestly, the badguys in this film can be spotted miles away, but that doesn’t make the film any less fun, especially when we get to the climax of the film and Ray seems to be coming up with things on the fly, but it all still seems to be going according to his plan.

There are shootouts, fights, a growing body count, and a number of recognizable faces including Sam Neill (yay!), Vinnie Jones, and Jim Caviezel (who is definitely very villainous in this one).

It’s a surprisingly fun film, if somewhat predictable, and once Ray is in prison, he connects with Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger) and the pair begin to concoct a plan to get out that involves playing the system, Caviezel’s Hobbes, and winning over the assistance of Dr. Kyrie (Neill).

It’s great to see Stallone and Schwarzenegger sharing the screen and they have a great chemistry together. It makes you wonder what could have been had they been able to work together in the 80s instead of trying to outdo each other.

There are a lot of fun sequences, and it’s fun to see Stallone and Schwarzenegger outwit the baddies with their brains and their brawn, and as the climax turns into an all-out battle it’s good to see that karma comes around for all the people who deserve it.

The film inspired two less-than-inspiring sequels that changed recast characters and had ridiculous production values and shooting schedules (both of them done in 20 days). I think I’ll just leave this as a one-off and pretend, much like I’m sure Stallone does that the two sequels don’t exist.