Studio: Alliance Films

Reviewed by: Jordan C.

Lockout was a good surprise for me. I only heard about it a week or two back on InnerSPACE when they were doing their WonderCon special. It stuck in my head simply that Guy Pearce was starring in a new sci-fi flick coming out before Prometheus. Turns out Luc Besson is the producer here, which is something I must have missed (or maybe they didn’t mention). I don’t love all his films but Leon holds a special place in my heart. So, just his involvement is a plus.

For the life of me, I can’t remember a movie in which Guy Pearce isn’t serious as sin. However, his wry sarcasm in Lockout proves not only that he can play a comedic role but also that he is naturally funny. I guess when your most lauded roles are in very solemn films like Momento, L.A. Confidential, and Animal Kingdom, it’s easy to get typecast. The other big name here is Maggie Grace (Taken), who played the part of damsel in distress well enough but she wasn’t memorable. On the other hand, Joseph Gilgun as the loony Hydell was fun and his performance should secure him plenty more work. He’s kind of like a low budget Sean Harris.

MS-1 (Mega Security-1) is a fictional prison in space where the most violent and criminally insane cons are kept in cryogenic stasis. So the premise here is: what if there was a riot and kidnapping on MS-1? Well, Plan A is you send in Snow (Pearce), and Plan B is you let the LOPD (Low Orbit Police Dept.) and its Rogue Squadron-esque fighters blow the space station to hell.

Now, this movie is far from perfect but the only thing that stuck out for me was an odd editing choice. There is a great scene before we get into space that ends in a crazy chase. Problem is, the chase seems to be at full speed and it’s quite hard to follow. This is also done in another key moment that I won’t reveal due to spoilers. Usually scenes like this are done in slo-mo, so we can follow all the split second action. I can appreciate how directors James Mather and Stephen St. Leger are trying to do something different but I think it’s just too drastic a transition from what we are used to.

You need your sci-fi fix this weekend? Hit up Lockout for some popcorn goodness.