Dan the Movie Man: Lockout

The first Friday the 13th of 2012 was not a kind one to movies across the country.  Surprisingly, The Three Stooges filled more seats than The Cabin in the Woods and Lockout.  The Cabin in the Woods is the only one of the bunch to get good reviews from critics, but you can’t feel too good about yourself when you fall behind The Three Stooges remake.

Since my fellow movie  reviewer, Coburn, called shotgun on The Cabin in the Woods, I decided to check out Lockout.  I was anticipating a typical, corny action movie that would inevitably let me down.  The plot is about a futuristic outer space prison that is overtaken by the inmates while the president’s daughter is on a tour.  Guy Pearce, a convict, is the only “guy” who can save the day.  He is sent into outer space to get onboard and rescue the president’s daughter. Doesn’t sound all that great right?

Turns out this movie wasn’t all too bad. There was a decent amount of subtle humor from Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace, who you might know from Taken. The way they interacted was funny, and it reminded me of the comic relief from Wolverine in the X-Men movies.  The action was good in most scenes; nothing too special or surprising.

Guy Pearce – a big name, right?  As I sat in the theater and tried to ignore the previews, I was trying to come up with why Guy Pearce is a big name in Hollywood.  Well, let’s work it out together.  For an actor to make my mental list of solid actors, they must first have a solid base of high-quality movies.  Guy Pearce has L.A. Confidential and Memento under his belt, but there isn’t much else I’m impressed with from his 20 years of acting.  My conclusion is his name has made him more popular than he actually should be.  I’ll have to be more careful before assuming actors/ actresses are among the elite; always do your homework.

Nonetheless, Pearce played exactly the role I expected him to play, and it was convincing.  If you’re thinking of heading to the movies for the weekend I would have to recommend seeing another option (consult with Coburn’s article if you’re thinking about going to Cabin in the Woods).

If horrors are not your style, then maybe you should ask your magic mirror on the wall which comedy is the funniest of them all.  It might be 21 Jump Street, but lately it has taken the backseat.  After, American Reunion had started to shine, but now it’s on the decline.  The only option couldn’t be any clearer, you will have to see Mirror Mirror.