Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

While serving life in a London prison, weighty and morose Brian Cox (as Frank Perry) receives a letter revealing his drug-addicted daughter is in dire straits. Wishing to see her before she expires, Mr. Cox plans a penitentiary escape. His small team of convicted conspirators make their break through London's sewers. We see parallel stories, co-written and directed by Rupert Wyatt, of both the build-up and the break-out. With help from editor Joe Walker and photographer Philipp Blaubach, the cross-cutting is very clever. You can figure out a surprising turn of events if you're watching intently, but some of the details are going to be clearer during a second viewing; the significance of a wool hat, for example...Cox manages to make the sketchy lead engaging; others do less with stereotypical characters. Secondarily noteworthy is Dominic Cooper (as James Lacey), who we're advised reminds Cox of someone he knew long ago. The younger and more shapely Mr. Cooper is marched into prison wearing tight underwear, which leads to the inevitable steamy shower rape; it's an unimaginative storyline, although Steven Mackintosh (as Tony) plays the perpetrator well. Cox' right hand man is otherwise Liam Cunningham (as Brodie). Muscular Joseph Fiennes (as Lenny Drake) and Seu Jorge (as Viv Batista) are trendy in a hoodie and dreadlocks. The prison is run by sauntering, steely-eyed Damian Lewis (as Rizza).****** The Escapist (1/21/08) Rupert Wyatt ~ Brian Cox, Dominic Cooper, Steven Mackintosh, Damian Lewis

Watch this if... a very good and suspenseful prison break film is your thing. Not action packed by any means, but provides plenty of suspense and is a solid film.Acting/Casting: 8* - Great casting from top to bottom in this one. Cox and company play their roles well and the acting is above average. In particular, Cox gives arguably his best performance to date.Directing/Cinematography/Technical: 7* - Well directed and I must say the final product is quite impressive. The film takes place predominately in prison and you can almost feel the despair with the dull and dark lighting throughout the film. The cinematography and other aspects of the movie are on par. Although nothing new, I am a big fan of the past/present flipping that takes place throughout the movie.Plot/Characters: 7* - This is a well thought out and constructed prison break film. Although Cox plays a criminal, it has you rooting for him to get out to aid and resolve issues with his daughter. The characters are a bit stereotypical and this prison is far from running a tight ship, but it is still entertaining.Entertainment Value: 7* - A solid film that offers suspense and is well worth a watch. If you are in the mood for a good prison break film that keeps you guessing, then this is right up your alley. I will likely watch again at some point in the future.My Score: 8+7+7+7 = 29/4 = 7.25Email your thoughts to [email protected]

On the surface it looked like being a standard prison break out picture. But come the end one can't help admiring the construction of the film and marvel at how the makers used the cons to con the audience in a wholly satisfying way. The set-up is simple enough, Brian Cox's old lag Frank Perry is mortified to hear that his daughter is mixed up with heavy drugs and death is perhaps one more hit away from her. Desperate to get out of prison to save her, he hatches a plan for escape and enlists some other like minded souls, each with their own special "skill" to see it through. What follows is a twinned inter-cut tale as we witness the escape attempt and the prior motivations leading up to said escape. All building towards what one can rightly expect to be a run of the mill ending so evident in most prison based movies......Directed by Rupert Wyatt, The Escapist thrives on claustrophobic atmosphere and grim prison reality to set the wheels in motion. Filmed at Kilmainham Jail in Dublin, this is a dank place, overcrowded and paint peeling from every wall; and of course there's an array of unsavoury characters just waiting to use violence or sexual proclivities to feather their respective nest. This place alone is reason enough for escape attempts, let alone the reasons put forward for our escaping protagonists. The audio on offer also enhances the mood, the clanking of metal or the rumbling of shuffling boots land in the ear drum with almost tenacious glee. There's also no overdose on dialogue, no filler conversations serving no purpose to the crux of the tale.The cast are (prison) uniformly strong, led by the great and weathered Cox, the roll call of escapees also contains earthy Liam Cunningham, a buffed up Joseph Fiennes, a youthfully fraught Dominic Cooper and black magic gusto from Seu Jorge. While within these walls menace comes from a weaselly Steven Mackintosh and the excellently chilling Damian Lewis as nick daddy Rizza. All in all, The Escapist, if you pardon the pun, is a break out movie two fold. Not just as a story, but also in offering up something different in the genre it belongs too. Much like Brian Cox himself, The Escapist is something of a British treasure. 9/10

An harrowing, gritty, taut, tense, thrilling prison break/thriller that will captivate you until the shocking, bittersweet conclusion. The film was atmospheric and gloomy and the performances were solid but not showy and it did a good job keeping you in suspense. It never reaches to great lengths and it wont stay in your memory forever but this is probably the best prison movie I've seen since The Last Castle and It's better than most movies of its kind but it just wasn't that theatrical or amazing as I thought it would be. Overall this prison break movie has an heart and a soul and has an involving story and characters to root for and was quite an jarring experience but frustrating. Recommended! More of a 3.5 out of 5 stars.