Lockout (2012)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Chris M

  
  Lockout is a big mess. I felt like I was watching a video game and not a movie. This film is basically as generic and bad as scifi action films can get. The only good part was Guy Pearce's dialogue. But the part where the movie fails is its use of Guy. They should of let him… More
  Lockout is a big mess. I felt like I was watching a video game and not a movie. This film is basically as generic and bad as scifi action films can get. The only good part was Guy Pearce's dialogue. But the part where the movie fails is its use of Guy. They should of let him carry the movie and not have focused on the terrible story. There are a couple extremely dumb plot twists that seemed like they were thrown in at the last minute and are unintentionally funny. Also, a movie like this needs good CGI, because basically thats all it would have going for it (besides Guy). But no, the CGI is terrible compared to today's standards. Overall, Guy can be great but the rest of the film just fails.

• Kase V

  
  'Lockout' is a silly, disappointing film whose only redeemable value is Guy Pearce's entertainment value as a grade-A ass. The action pieces are few and far between and when they do crop up, they are hectic and awful. The story line is boring and Maggie Grace is… More
  'Lockout' is a silly, disappointing film whose only redeemable value is Guy Pearce's entertainment value as a grade-A ass. The action pieces are few and far between and when they do crop up, they are hectic and awful. The story line is boring and Maggie Grace is aggravating, at best. Pearce is fun to watch and listen to, but after a while you just want to give up on him too, even though you already gave up on the movie 30 minutes in.

• Emily A

  
  What a classic, throwback popcorn blockbuster! It's got everything that made all those old movies tons of fun, and I imagine people will keep watching this for years to come, just for the campy fun. However, in the last 15 years action movie grew and evolved a lot, and this is… More
  What a classic, throwback popcorn blockbuster! It's got everything that made all those old movies tons of fun, and I imagine people will keep watching this for years to come, just for the campy fun. However, in the last 15 years action movie grew and evolved a lot, and this is one of the ones that didn't. Whether or not that bothers you depends on how willing you are to get swept up in the endearing characters and ignore the fact that the bad guys in this movie make all the same damn mistakes bad guys in action movies always make. You know how, after Scream came out, old-school played-straight slasher movies kinda seemed boring by comparison? This is an old-school, played-straight action movie that seems a little anachronistic, archaic and quaint. In a world where the inmates of the most sophisticated mega-prison can overpower the facility with laughable ease, it only makes sense to send in an unco-operative and unpredictable action movie hero to rescue the one important hostage. The world of this movie is blissfully free of the laws of physics - and often common sense - but you won't be disappointed as long as you don't go in expecting it not to be. It's big and dumb, but internally incoherent. The MS One Supermax is held together by its own brand of badassery. The characters are so endearing and fun that I'm more than willing to forgive glaring design errors in the diegetic world and a cartoonishly antagonistic and borderline misogynistic relationship between the action movie hero and the damsel in distress. Guy Pearce rocks my stripy socks in this flick.

• Lady D

  
  A very average film with a lot of predictability, there are some good moments in this, but it is a little drawn out in parts, feel it's a bit of a come down for Guy Pearce's abilities, however the Actor who took this film for me was up and rising Joe Gilgun who made his… More
  A very average film with a lot of predictability, there are some good moments in this, but it is a little drawn out in parts, feel it's a bit of a come down for Guy Pearce's abilities, however the Actor who took this film for me was up and rising Joe Gilgun who made his character memorable.

• Nate Z

  
  Rather derivative and not very clever, the sci-fi prison break movie Lockout is surprisingly enjoyable, in a brain-dead sort of way, mostly thanks to a few lean suspense sequences and the deadpan glory of star, Guy Pearce. The man plays a reluctant hero sent to a space prison to… More
  Rather derivative and not very clever, the sci-fi prison break movie Lockout is surprisingly enjoyable, in a brain-dead sort of way, mostly thanks to a few lean suspense sequences and the deadpan glory of star, Guy Pearce. The man plays a reluctant hero sent to a space prison to rescue the president's daughter (Maggie Grace) hiding amidst the dangerous inmates. It's like every action, sci-fi cliché rolled into one, and yet the movie is consistently entertaining. Pearce carries the same deadpan gumption throughout; it doesn't matter what's happening, it will not faze him and he has a quip for everything. When the first daughter asks him if her dad had any words to pass along, he quips, "Yeah, you're adopted." The roguish charm of Pearce keeps the movie grounded even when it goes a little nutty with conspiracies, obstacles, and a mad rush of a climax. The movie is set only 40 years or so in the future, and as such it feels too weirdly futuristic for the minimal time jump. Would we really have an orbiting space prison and put prisoners in hyper sleep? Anyway, the movie is a lot more fun and tolerable than I would have expected, and Columbus, Ohio's own Grace (Taken) actually gives the most mature performance of her still young career, for what that's worth. It's not great, but thanks to Pearce, it's pretty passable entertainment, especially for generous genre fans. Nate's Grade: B-

• KJ P

  
  When this movie started I was ready for anything. Ten minutes later I rejected that previous statement, because I was laughing too hard at the pointless story and the disgusting visual effects. I tried so hard to give this film sympathy, but when you are already on an overdone story… More
  When this movie started I was ready for anything. Ten minutes later I rejected that previous statement, because I was laughing too hard at the pointless story and the disgusting visual effects. I tried so hard to give this film sympathy, but when you are already on an overdone story in a world where all the effects matter, the effects better be phenomenal, but they were shit! So as the movie starts, we are in an interrogation room with Snow (Guy Pearce), who has been accused of something that is not quite clear, and when he is locked up in prison they decide to pull him out and send him into space where he must save his "friend" and the presidents daughter, to prove himself not guilty, and to save her life. She is being held hostage by a group of escaped convicts that will do anything to get what they want. I cannot begin to count how many times I rolled my eyes during this film, the bad one liners, the horrible visuals, the cliched script and the awfully simple dialogue, just add to the disappointment that is "Lockout!" If you want a good time at the movies, you will not find that anywhere near this film. "Lockout" is one of the worse of 2012 so far!

• Aaron N

  
  Snow: Don't' get me wrong, I mean it's a dream vacation. I go inside the maximum security nuthouse, get past all the psychos, save the President's daughter, if she's not dead already...I'm thrilled you would think of me. So I have wrongly been… More
  Snow: Don't' get me wrong, I mean it's a dream vacation. I go inside the maximum security nuthouse, get past all the psychos, save the President's daughter, if she's not dead already...I'm thrilled you would think of me. So I have wrongly been associating this movie with John Carpenter and Kurt Russell. There is a certain attitude and story structure that definitely evokes this classic 80s sci-fi/action combo, but really, Lockout (or Space Jail, as I've been calling it) is much more in line with 90s Bruce Willis action movies. It has such a care free, "screw it" sort of attitude that making fun of the movie will get you nowhere, because it is very much in on the joke already. Space Jail cares very little about establishing realistic logic and is more concerned with having plenty of fun, as Guy Pearce spits out one-liners, while aboard a prison that is located in space. It is a simple gimmick, hovering over a familiar action flick plot, but the energy in its delivery kept a smile on my face. read the whole review at thecodeiszeek.com

• Matt G

  
  Snow: I am bringing you back from the dead. The main issue with Lockout is the flawed narrative. The film opens up to a very intriguing action sequence - promising us crazy B-movie action throughout. What's unfortunate is that Lockout is a pretty generic film with mediocre… More
  Snow: I am bringing you back from the dead. The main issue with Lockout is the flawed narrative. The film opens up to a very intriguing action sequence - promising us crazy B-movie action throughout. What's unfortunate is that Lockout is a pretty generic film with mediocre acting and scattered editing. Additionally, the film had an awful marketing run, classifying itself solely as "from the producers of Taken", rather then "from the mind of Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element", which is clearly a better suit for the film. Having said that, I did have a reasonable amount of fun throughout, mainly due to Guy Pearce's Die Hard-esque performance - although the film could have been a whole lot better. How does "space prison" hold up? Read on to find out, folks. Read the whole review at creedsdelight.com

• Eric H

  
  Convict Pearce is given a chance to go free after agreeing to rescue the President's daughter from an outer space prison where the inmates have taken control. A plot ripped from the world of John Carpenter, crackling Hawksian dialogue, and a hot chick with spiky black hair, yes… More
  Convict Pearce is given a chance to go free after agreeing to rescue the President's daughter from an outer space prison where the inmates have taken control. A plot ripped from the world of John Carpenter, crackling Hawksian dialogue, and a hot chick with spiky black hair, yes folks, this is my kind of movie. Following a wildly inventive yet simple credits sequence, the movie launches into five minutes of the worst CGI imaginable. I really thought I wouldn't stick this one out so head-achingly annoying was the mix of cheap video-game effects and shaky camera work. Thankfully the effects budget seems to have been blown on this sequence, forcing the film-makers to concentrate on the characters, and the movies a lot better for it. Two of my fellow Irish compatriots wrote, directed and shot this but they had to go to France to do so as the Irish Film Board would never want to be associated with something that isn't "culturally relevant". It's easy to see why the French would love this though, it's a movie that's steeped in cinema history, a throwback to both Howard Hawks and eighties sci-fi like "Escape From New York" and "Outland". It may be the cleverest dumb movie we'll see all year. The plot is unabashedly stolen from the aforementioned Carpenter film and Pearce is surprisingly charismatic in the Kurt Russell role. The movie really comes alive when he pairs up with the stunning Grace, forming a B-movie Bogart and Bacall partnership. The dialogue is fantastic and thankfully the performers are up to the task of delivering it. If someone like Jason Statham had been cast it would have fallen flat. There were quite a lot of walkouts at the screening I attended, possibly due to the movie being mis-sold as an action romp. It's really not, at least not in the way contemporary audiences are used to. This is an old-school Hollywood style romantic comedy with Sci-Fi trappings, think "His Girl Friday" meets "Con-Air". If you're expecting lavish action set-pieces you'll be sorely disappointed. Personally I'd much rather watch Pearce and Grace bounce witty insults off each other than a tedious series of slo-mo explosions. If your favorite scene in "Temple Of Doom" is the bedroom argument between Ford and Capshaw this is the movie for you. Rather than taking the usual route of having a sophisticated worldly villain ala Alan Rickman in "Die Hard", this takes it's cue from the anarchy of "EFNY", the main villains are a pair of Glaswegian neds, totally out of their depth. The lunatics literally take over the asylum. At a time when the multiplex is full of movies that are either insultingly dumb, "Battleship", or too obsessed with their postmodernist street-cred to be entertaining, "Cabin In The Woods", it's refreshing to see a movie that's clever while never employing any smugness, wildly enjoyable without being offensively crass. Mather and St. Ledger could frankly use a refresher course in directing but as writers they're an exciting new talent. Ireland's loss is France's gain.

• Walter M

  
  In "Lockout," Emilie Warnock(Maggie Grace), the President's(Peter Hudson) daughter, is being held hostage with others on board MS-One, a supermax prison in low earth orbit. So, it's a good thing CIA Agent Snow(Guy Pearce) was headed there anyway, even if it was… More
  In "Lockout," Emilie Warnock(Maggie Grace), the President's(Peter Hudson) daughter, is being held hostage with others on board MS-One, a supermax prison in low earth orbit. So, it's a good thing CIA Agent Snow(Guy Pearce) was headed there anyway, even if it was because he was framed for murder and treason. Helping with the one-stop mayhem is that his partner and holder of secrets, Mace(Tim Plester), is also aboard the station. But before things get truly out of hand, the authorities want to try the subtle approach. "Lockout" breaks the cardinal rule of any action movie: keep it as simple as possible, as the script shuffles through more than its share of contrivances and convolutions. That's not to say I don't buy the prison break happening, as anything could quite possibly happen with budget cuts and the lowest bidder.(See, some things never change.) Otherwise, ideologically, it wants to have its cake and complain about the calories, too. And the movie does not take full advantage of its 500 vs 2 scenario and is maybe a little anticlimactic. But the reason the passably entertaining "Lockout" gets any kind of recommendation at all is because of Guy Pearce playing a smart ass for the ages. Especially note the classic opening scene where he imitates a bobblehead doll. That's not to mention the usually fine work of Lennie James.

• Sol C

  
  Guy Pearce is the best reason to see this film. Sure the film is predictable. Sure the film is similar to Escape From NY. However, what makes this film very entertaining and worth watching is Guy Pearce. He has the best one liners. Sure his character is no Snake Plisskin, but his Snow… More
  Guy Pearce is the best reason to see this film. Sure the film is predictable. Sure the film is similar to Escape From NY. However, what makes this film very entertaining and worth watching is Guy Pearce. He has the best one liners. Sure his character is no Snake Plisskin, but his Snow character can kick ass and make jokes too. On a negative some of the action scenes happened too fast and it was hard to make out what happened. That is a big problem in a lot of these action films, when the action just happens too fast for the audience to take in what they are watching. Also some of the special effects in the film, I didn't think were good. Some of the special effects looked similar to a video game and fake. Still, I recommend the film only for Guy Pearce's performance.

• Jason T

  
  I'll be honest in saying that I didn't expect much out of this film, the ONLY things it had going for it was that Guy Pearce was starring and that studios had the confidence to not release it in the month that means universal box office death in March. Guy Pearce plays the… More
  I'll be honest in saying that I didn't expect much out of this film, the ONLY things it had going for it was that Guy Pearce was starring and that studios had the confidence to not release it in the month that means universal box office death in March. Guy Pearce plays the wise-cracking agent named Snow who has been framed by some unknown foe while trying to help recover stolen government secrets. To try to clear his name he is sent on a suicide mission to save the President's daughter, Emilie (played by Lost's Maggie Grace), in a maximum security prison located in space. Lets start with the negatives as there are a lot of things that ticked off my nitpicking senses. The CGI isn't very top notch here, but its only distracting when the action gets too fast paced for the camera to follow and everything begins to look "off." This movie borrows HEAVILY from other movies as Snow is clearly a derivative of Bruce Willis in Die Hard, scenes are stolen directly from Star Wars, and Maggie Grace ends up looking like Franka Potente in Bourne Identity, and most of the kills look like something out of a James Bond movie in terms of, "wow that was rather convenient that that thing was there to save him." Also this movie as expected is very clichà (C) and EXTREMELY predictable. All that said this movie is within the category that its so bad its good. And not in the good movie way but in the way that coming out of it you'll definitely be entertained and you won't be looking at your watch waiting for the movie to end. Guy Pearce does the best with what he's given and his banter throughout the movie is actually quite hilarious from the delivery to the dialogue itself. He's essentially the main reason you watch this movie, that and the movie is so clichà (C)d its entertaining. I don't recommend you pay full price to watch this movie but I do recommend that you see it if you want an entertaining, turn off your brain, popcorn popping movie.

• Jeffrey M

  
  Lockout is a B movie, an often really cheesy B movie, but one that is able to mimic at least some of the charm from the better movies it borrows from, namely Escape from New York. What especially worked for the film was the way in which Guy Pearce delivers his one-liners throughout… More
  Lockout is a B movie, an often really cheesy B movie, but one that is able to mimic at least some of the charm from the better movies it borrows from, namely Escape from New York. What especially worked for the film was the way in which Guy Pearce delivers his one-liners throughout the film, it is hilarious, Pearce alone elevates nearly every scene he's in. Every aspect of the film is cliche and derivative, but if you're on board with that from the start, the film ends up being quite entertaining. The world building, though noticeably low budget with some of the CGI, is actually done well. Overall it's dumb, but consistently fun. 3.5/5 Stars

• Jon O

  
  "Lockout" is silly, but not silly enough to overcome its poor production values and ridiculous performances. Guy Pearce is entertaining as always, though.

• Jack M

  
  What happened to Guy Pearce? This guy used to be in exceptional movies. Does he not remember that he was the star of The Count of Monte Cristo, LA Confidential, and damn Memento? Lockout is a fast paced action movie with no substance at all. It is like Taken with no heart. Lockout is… More
  What happened to Guy Pearce? This guy used to be in exceptional movies. Does he not remember that he was the star of The Count of Monte Cristo, LA Confidential, and damn Memento? Lockout is a fast paced action movie with no substance at all. It is like Taken with no heart. Lockout is so generic and cliched that it is embarrassing. The sad part is Guy Pearce is so good, that his acting and overall charisma almost saves this movie. However, between terrible acting (Maggie Grace), an even worse plot, and downright sickening bad direction, Lockout fails badly.

• Christopher H

  
  Devoid of any real sense, Lockout is basically Con Air in space. Guy Pearce delivers the best performance he can under the stale "one man versus the world" schtick and the unending spatter of sarcasm in his every line of dialogue. The fact of the matter is, Lockout rarely… More
  Devoid of any real sense, Lockout is basically Con Air in space. Guy Pearce delivers the best performance he can under the stale "one man versus the world" schtick and the unending spatter of sarcasm in his every line of dialogue. The fact of the matter is, Lockout rarely makes sense. Glossing over any sort of struggle connected to the means to the end, everything happens in double time in Lockout and not in an exciting action-filled way, but in a "can't be bothered to explain this" sort of way. It takes one rogue in-mate to successfully take over the space station, the crew is filled with gun-shy "obedients", and there are portions of the film so laughable, they detract from the entire film.

• Lane Z

  
  Movie 99! Now even though it gets a 2 1/2 stars from me, I still had fun watching this escapade. Guy Pearce is clearly the best actor in this movie about a space station prison high above earth. There are the cool futuristic concepts you're used to imagining coming to life in… More
  Movie 99! Now even though it gets a 2 1/2 stars from me, I still had fun watching this escapade. Guy Pearce is clearly the best actor in this movie about a space station prison high above earth. There are the cool futuristic concepts you're used to imagining coming to life in this film...my favorite was the free-fall from space at the end back into earth's atmosphere. However, Maggie Grace is NOT a good actor. She's definitely pretty (blonde and with long hair), but GD she cannot act. She was terrible in Lost, Taken, etc. The bad guys (escaped prisoners) never really get the setup they deserve or the appropriate deaths to go with them. The twists aren't crazy out of this world, but the quick one-liners from Pearce save the film from being unbearable in it's hour and a half run time.

• Philip P

  
  It was clear from the first trailer and all of the marketing tools that were being used that the folks behind "Lockout" were trying to position it as their next surprise hit in the vein of "Taken". This is not going to happen. They found a charismatic leading man… More
  It was clear from the first trailer and all of the marketing tools that were being used that the folks behind "Lockout" were trying to position it as their next surprise hit in the vein of "Taken". This is not going to happen. They found a charismatic leading man not known for doing such commercial films and somehow managed to cast him in the lead. Insert Guy Pearce for Liam Neeson and instead of saving his daughter he will save, hmmm...let's see, I know, how about...the president's daughter! It's genius right? Not really, heck they even have Maggie Grace (the girl playing Neeson's kidnapped daughter in "Taken") to once again play the damsel in distress. Then they throw the concept at you and you become slightly intrigued in the project: space prison. Yea, I can admit I was engaged by the premise of a locking rapists and murderers in a prison not existing on earth. Why couldn't it actually be a possibility? Not a bad idea and apparently producer Luc Besson imagined it had the good grounds for a movie. Unfortunately, the engaging concept is the only good thing the film has going for it besides a few good quips from Pearce's Snow. While Snow is a guy who as you might have heard in the trailer is a "loose cannon" he gives off the vibe as too much of a caricature, someone that could only exist in the movies, and while it is apparent that Pearce knows this and plays it to the hilt what doesn't work is that the movie in itself is so campy this is layering camp on top of more camp. I can understand intentionally making a B-movie, but "Lockout" turns out more of a parody of the genre. If you are one of the lucky ones to not get a bad impression from the trailers for this film and have no idea what it is about, first off: good for you. If by any chance it still sounds like something you might want to check out you should know the remainder of the plot is filled in by making Snow a wrongly convicted federal agent of conspiracy and espionage against the U.S. He has supposedly killed a senior member of the department who was one of his friends, so why would he do that right? This friend left him a package that he gave to his partner to hide as he was captured and taken in for questioning. His friend hides the package but of course gets caught and ends up where? You guessed it, the space station prison. So, Snow is lucky when the opportunity arrives for him to gain his freedom by taking on the mission of rescuing the presidents daughter on that same space station after a massive break out occurs and she is taken hostage. While you will likely be laughing at many things throughout the film, I can at least recognize a few good things and commend first time feature directors James Mather and Stephen St. Leger for bringing a consistent frenetic pace and grungy tone to the experience. While this could also be credited to the editor and set design team, the directors at least seem competent in the story they are telling and move it along nicely as everything falls into place in expert fashion. It is certainly run of the mill, but Pearce elevates the whole thing a few notches by just appearing here and when he slyly spits out his sarcastic quips they will once in a while land just perfectly and make you smile back, knowing everyone involved here realizes the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Now, I am usually one to enjoy a good piece of sci-fi, but I prefer the type where the tone is more self-serious and on a massive scale that allows the audience to also realize the gravitas of the situation. I didn't fully expect this going into "Lockout" but I did at least expect a few major set-ups that would warrant a point of amazement that would stick with me, but in the most elaborate of these on "Lockout" I found myself laughing at the implausibility of it. I also found myself laughing at the fact the year is supposed to be 2079 and Snow (who probably would have been born around 2039) is making remarks about global warming as if that trend would have not been forgotten. There are several things like this that have to be taken into consideration when changing the time frame considerably. I mean, at the very least could we not have something a little cooler than regular ole bullets by that time. C'mon guys, if you're gonna serve the audience play by play action movie cliches then at least get a little inventive with the details. The one aspect of the film that really made it fun for me though were the inmates who are put to sleep while they are imprisoned on this space station and so when they wake up a few of them can seem a bit off. The one who starts this whole riot is a manic, glass-eyed and gold capped druggie that looks like something out of a Guy Ritchie movie and as played by Joseph Gilgun is really the "loose cannon" here as he has no problem killing someone off, and the movie has no regard for human life. His brother happens to be he ringleader of this whole circus and with their thick Irish accents we can see the glee in their expressions as they do whatever they please to manipulate the negotiations. Vincent Regan plays older brother Alex and while you'll probably recognize him from a number of sword and sandal epics he does his best here to ham it up as the "smart convict". Their actions may be shameless but at least they add a little spice to the mix. While the conclusion wraps everything up neatly for this adventure it is clear that the makers are setting things up for a sequel just in case this makes enough money. You get the feeling we won't be seeing more adventures of Agent Snow though as this doesn't have the charm or the appeal that "Taken" had when it appeared out of nowhere in 2008. What made that film such a surprise, so engaging was the very limited glimpse of what was to come in the marketing campaign. It was genius and whoever had the idea to put the emphasis on Neeson's deep and intimidating Irish voice was right on the money. None of that could be said to save "Lockout". This is more an attempt in a new direction where the high-concept overrides the need for anything else, even logic. There are sparks of fun and glimpses of what might have been a franchise starter, but when it comes down to it this is very basic filmmaking and as much as I appreciate Pearce's effort, he just didn't come off as the John McClane of the future that I expected him to be. Oh well, another shot at something that might have been kind of spectacular had it been done with more ambition and better special effects (some of these are as cheesy as the dialogue) but fails to live up to the promise of an underrated actor in a take off on some kind of 80's-riddled adventure flick flounders and becomes something the studio didn't even want to spend money on in post to convert to 3D. they knew the conversion price wouldn't be warranted by the box office returns so why even bother seeing it? If you still want to, go ahead, but don't say I didn't warn you.

• ernest e

  
  It is an abstract piece of cinematic artwork. Fastmoving weird even comical. When seen for what it is this movie is excelent. When compared with other modern products it does not work but lockout is a unique individual way of artistic filmmaking that is different. Rather childish in… More
  It is an abstract piece of cinematic artwork. Fastmoving weird even comical. When seen for what it is this movie is excelent. When compared with other modern products it does not work but lockout is a unique individual way of artistic filmmaking that is different. Rather childish in apearance, like a computergame and completely unrealistic. Serious realistic people will not like it and it shows in the reviews that there are few openminded souls that appreciate the very alternative style of lockout.

• Sean S

  
  Guy Pearce steals the show as a wiseacre action guy right out of 80's . Not a lot of thinking going on in this one but it's still fun.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings