Movie Review: ‘Escape Plan 2: Hades’

Review by Bradley Smith

In Escape Plan 2: Hades, Sylvester Stallone returns to break into and out of another inescapable prison. A few other returnees are along for the thrills as well as a group of fresh faces, including Jesse Metcalf and Dave Bautista.

Years after breaking out of an inescapable prison known as the Tomb (the plot of the first movie), Ray Breslin (Stallone; I typically list other credits here, but I’d be surprised if anyone didn’t know Stallone) now runs his own security company with a team that takes on a majority of the field work. But, what fun would an action movie be if it left Stallone behind a desk. When an old friend and current and former teammates get captured and sent to a battleground prison known as Hades, Ray finds himself drawn back into his old element facing a darker, more futuristic and seemingly automated prison.

While the film works as a stand alone action movie, it definitely feels like a sequel in a series that is not over yet. Stallone’s character is already well established with no backstory presented. There are nods to the previous film, which are inconsequential and may not be noticeable to those who haven’t seen the first film. And the ending almost certainly sets up at least one more movie.

There is plenty of action that might keep the audience on the edge of their seat; i.e. martial arts, fighting, explosions, escapes, etc. Character development, on the other hand, is lacking, depending on classic stereotypes, like the new guy eager to prove himself. I have not seen the first movie, so I am not sure how well developed the returning characters already are, but the new characters don’t get much time to make us care about them.

The story is also underwhelming with some plot holes, predictable twists, and the occasional terrible one liner (“No, it’s bad to be back”). More than once, the scenes would change and I found myself wondering how they went from the previous scene to the next.

Maybe I would like this better if I had seen the first film, but as a stand alone movie, I would not highly recommend it. Though, it seems there are plans for a third film and the filmmakers could be putting their best effort into that film; in which case I would recommend this film so that you have a backstory for the next.