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 Escape Plan 2: Hades 

Rate this film:
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Total votes : 5

 Escape Plan 2: Hades 
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
The film constantly undermines its concept. It is supposed to be an ironclad prison design. Ok, we know Breslin will finally escape, but we assume that he will use ingenious tactics in order to do so. But before his escape plan has even really taken shape, the prison is riddled with security flaws. At one point, snitch Yusheng confronts another prisoner, "I know you get stuff for inmates. I need a favour...or I tell the machine". And the next thing we see is a bunch of remote devices winding up in people's lunchboxes. It's really silly, and is purely an oversight in writing. They obviously couldn't think of another way for them to determine the layout, so they looked for a tired prison movie convention, and to hell with the last 40 minutes of setting this place up to be a fortress. Viola! No explanation necessary. Is it one of the guards? the chef perhaps? Miller doesn't think it is important to let us know. And there are about a dozen issues like this.


Sun Jul 08, 2018 10:26 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
I watched this a second time, in the cinema this time, on Sunday evening. Knowing exactly what to expect I enjoyed it a lot more. Enjoyment that mostly came from analyzing certain creative choices and observing what I thought was good and bad.
I found the film has a bit of a base that could have turned this into a much better film, but they seemed to both try hard to make things worse and at times it feels there's a disconnect about what the script desired and how the director (Miller) decided to translate that to the screen.
A glaring deficiency in the film remain Huang Xiao Ming, he's just not pleasant to watch, and another is the decision to make some things more complicated then they need be, while on top of that providing very little context as why or how things are happening. If they wanted it both ways, they should have put more effort in it.
It just feels like a film both aspiring to be a big budget drama and action blockbuster, but instead operating with a vision of minimalism. There's some good and fun interactions between the characters in the film, and besides that it's hard to take positive things away from it.
Miller applies the close-up cam well sometimes, but it's lack of space-creating shots hurt it more, and above all the story just doesn't flow well. Certain plot point, elements, or explanations in the film just don't seem to make a whole lot of sense. It becomes at times silly and overall poorly made. Despite some nice sets, I liked the Breslin office set-up, the film seems and probably was a relative rush job, which is apparent in the final result. Another annoying and useless thing was the animation of the prison lay-out forming in Shu's head around 5-times over or so, contributed nothing.


Tue Jul 10, 2018 2:25 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
stuffp wrote:
Another annoying and useless thing was the animation of the prison lay-out forming in Shu's head around 5-times over or so, contributed nothing.


Yeah, lol. This happened a few times, and it shows nothing besides a generic 3D line concept of what appears to be the shape of the "sanctuary", but none of these shots are linked to a recent plot development or character foresight. It's so fucking lazy.


Tue Jul 10, 2018 3:03 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
David wrote:
"ALL PRISONERS, RETURN TO YOUR SPOKES!"


It's a small thing, but I paid attention to it, although don't remember the first part exactly, the second part is definitely: "return to your spoke", not spokes.


Fri Jul 13, 2018 1:53 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
It's "All prisoners return to your spoke". It's said rather calmly, actually, so didn't need capitals. I think it's only said once or twice.


Fri Jul 13, 2018 1:58 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
I absolutely hate Huang Xiaoming in this. Even more with each viewing. The way he says everything is horrible and his acting is atrocious. Take his electrocution in Bangkok. Even when he is being electrocuted, his face is pretty much expressionless. Then his delivery of every single line ... no intonation whatsoever. Everything is delivered so flat.

"Thought I could work de doctor get us some benefits ... turns out, zi doctor is a labstat"

And you know it's a bad movie when this line is said (and it's said by HXM which intensifies its shittiness):

"Wod iz diz place?"


Fri Jul 13, 2018 2:06 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
Algren wrote:
And you know it's a bad movie when this line is said (and it's said by HXM which intensifies its shittiness):

"Wod iz diz place?"


That's hilarious...it really just doesn't help that he has trouble with the pronunciation. Not grasping the language, regardless of accent, makes it a lot harder to act really.

Let DiCaprio speak french and his acting performance could easily turn subpar. But HXM is even a subpar actor in Chinese, so it's easy to figure where this film went bad quickly.


Fri Jul 13, 2018 2:10 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
Actually, I think it's even worse:

"Wod iz diz plaze?" :grrr:


Fri Jul 13, 2018 2:12 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
Yep :funny:


Fri Jul 13, 2018 2:12 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
DiCaprio did fine speaking in Blood Diamond, didn't he? I've still not seen it. But you're right. It's not a matter of the language being used. Huang is just shit. But then, so many Chinese "actors" are bad. They just do not have a range of emotions. Very much an old fashioned civilisation. Just uttering lines on camera is modern for them. Uttering lines in English on camera? Well, their family thinks they're geniuses.


Fri Jul 13, 2018 2:15 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
It's interesting that Chinese are so bad at acting. They're so obsessed with copying in all other areas of life.


Fri Jul 13, 2018 2:16 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
Yeah, but with DiCaprio in Blood Diamond, he's speaking English with an Afrikaans accent, while he is a native English speaker. I think when you have to completely speak a language you've not mastered for a leading role, it will hamper your acting abilities, because it just feels too unnatural, like in the case with HXM. A great actor can completely own a screen with a very small speaking role, actually I even think acting is much more about body language and just the emotion in the face, than just speaking the part. And that is where HXM and many chinese actors just fail, they've been since a young age instructed to keep emotion reserved, while in the west it's usually encouraged.

Algren wrote:
It's interesting that Chinese are so bad at acting. They're so obsessed with copying in all other areas of life.

Which often still starts at maybe the teenage years at the earliest, as long as Chinese culture is rooted into Chinese's upbringing they're not going to excel at things other nations are good at, because really it's just a thing of practice and experience where they're not being able to catch up on in fields of art like acting. Although sure, talent could always and everywhere come around, there are good Chinese actors, HXM is just not one of them.


Fri Jul 13, 2018 3:12 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
Oh, and, watch Blood Diamond!


Fri Jul 13, 2018 3:14 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
Oh, I can confirm that Jaime King is Abigail for the third film as well. So Sly, 50 Cent, Bautista, and King are the returning players.


Fri Jul 13, 2018 4:05 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
Nice, I wondered would would reprise their roles, aside from 50 who made efforts to advertise his involvement, glad they are.


Fri Jul 13, 2018 4:07 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
Daniel Bernhardt seems to be the villain, or at least the main henchman for the villain (Vinnie Jones' role in the first film). And I hope that Stallone fights this guy... https://www.instagram.com/myrom_kingery/ which should be an epic battle reminiscent of Stallone vs. Steve Austin in The Expendables.

Despite Hades, I am looking forward to Devil's Station. Everything I've seen so far makes it look better. It only took 20 days to film it all, but maybe that's just down to Herzfeld being Clint-lite.


Fri Jul 13, 2018 4:37 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
After all, I'm looking forward to Devil's Station too, it shouldn't be too hard to be better than Hades, and Stallone remains an attraction.


Fri Jul 13, 2018 7:31 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades


Mon Jul 16, 2018 12:08 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
There's some parts good (the intro, the set), and some parts bad (not being able to see anything about the fight, the score being too overly dramatic). But I like the clip overall.


Mon Jul 16, 2018 12:56 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
I like everything about it. The way it's introduced, the score is ace, and the set for that clip is fine. But as soon as he's in the "zoo", it's awful. Is it a fight? a brawl? or just some light pushing and shoving? It's laughable, actually.


Mon Jul 16, 2018 12:59 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
Image

Google users FTW! :funny:


Tue Jul 17, 2018 12:18 pm
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
This review seems to nail it, and it's a fun read too, mixing it with Skyscraper.

https://cyprus-mail.com/2018/07/17/film ... n-2-hades/


Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:46 pm
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
Yeah, good review.

Terrible but not boring, is a fair conclusion.


Tue Jul 17, 2018 10:08 pm
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
There is humour in the film but it is not given any space. Take these:

[talking to the 'we are legion' guys]
Breslin: "I need you cue balls to cover our back"

and

Luke: "De Rosa, long time no see"
De Rosa: "Nice PJs. Where's your fucking teddy bear?"


Thu Jul 19, 2018 5:48 am
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Post Re: Escape Plan 2: Hades
Algren wrote:
Breslin: "I need you cue balls to cover our back"

I don't remember this line, but it made me chuckle just now while trying to place it.

Algren wrote:
Luke: "De Rosa, long time no see"

Don't get what made this funny again.

Algren wrote:
De Rosa: "Nice PJs. Where's your fucking teddy bear?"

That's a good line, and made me laugh the second time around because I paid attention.

Most of these lines, they just appear so fleetingly in the film, Miller seemed to purposely want to avoid any laughs as to stay as gritty as possible, not understanding those can live together in one film too.


Thu Jul 19, 2018 6:20 am
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