My Five

A clip from Escape plan movie

Escape Plan

Mikael Håfström, the director has two of the biggest movie stars (Stallone and Schwarzenegger) in an action movie with a very simple concept. Ray Breslin (Stallone) is a prison security expert, framed and put into world’s most secure prison. He gets the help of a German prison inmate Rottmeyer (Arnie) and the duo comes up with a plan to escape from the prison. Jim Caviezel plays the ruthless prison warden and Vinnie Jones is the tough assistant. The set design for the prison is hi-tech and looks futuristic. You can’t ask for more.

Terminator 2

Terminator 2 directed by James Cameron is a sequel to

The Terminator. John Connor is still the future leader of resistance and is the target of a more deadly terminator. The resistance manages to send Arnie as the robot chosen to save John. This movie is a wild ride that will appeal to elders and kids alike. Arnie’s reflexes are super slow making him look real as a robot (T-800) and the dead-pan face that is devoid of emotions adds to the realistic portrayal. Robert Patrick as T-1000 looks mean and is an even match for Arnie. Edward Furlong gets a dream debut as John Connor and Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor does justice in protecting her son. The movie has very little dialogues with electrifying action with CG work which were considered cutting edge at that time.

Rocky 4

Rocky 4, directed by Sylvester Stallone has Rocky returning to face a bigger challenge in Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) after Ivan’s heavy duty punches send Rocky’s friend and trainer to death in an exhibition match. Ivan looks indestructible and it’s up to Rocky to fight for himself, his friend and for his country. The movie is very inspiring and the boxing bouts well choreographed. The training montage is superbly filmed and the background score is apt. The climax fight is one that is not to be missed. This is easily the best Rocky film ever made.

Predator

Predator directed by John McTiernan is the perfect example of a classic action film loaded with cheesy visual effects that gel so well with the proceedings making the movie really exciting. Arnie is Major Dutch, convincing and commanding, leading a group of commandos into the jungle for a secret mission, but they find themselves being hunted down methodically by an alien (called the Predator). The plot is fairly simple, atmosphere perfect and the narration real pacy. The Predator is almost invisible for most part of the movie which adds to the tension and it is finally revealed when it is ready to fight with Arnie and it all boils down to one final big bout between these two and no time and no prizes for guessing who won the contest. Created by Stan Winston, the predator looks very original, cool and is a mean killing machine.

Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger by Renny Harlin has Stallone as Gabe Walker, a former rescue climber who is assisting a rescue in a mountain peak. The bad men have lost a whole lot of money they managed to steal from the U.S. government in the mountains and it’s up to Gabe to what he does best — rescue the team, save the money. The move is just one big showcase of great stunts put one after another that it is hard to pick one good sequence. John Lithgow plays the cool villain with ultimate ease. The movie easily justifies “an avalanche of thrills” tag associated to it. The opening sequence is unforgettable and will be rated as one of the best opening sequence in 90’s action movies.

Those which almost made it

Judge Dredd: Danny Cannon

End of Days: Peter Hyams

Demolition Man: Marco Brambilla

Total Recall: Paul Verhoeven

Cobra: George P. Cosmatos

True Lies: James Cameron

Linet Christilda R. is an Assistant Professor at Women’s Christian College, Chennai who likes action and horror movies.