"Lockout" Review

    Almost every year a movie comes out that has a cool concept that fails to deliver on what should have been awesome. Last year's Cowboys and Aliens and infamous example Snakes on a Plane both had cool concepts that ultimately failed to make these otherwise uninteresting films be well, good. And while we still have to wait to see what the verdict is when this year's arguably craziest concept, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter gets released in June, the other big cool concept movie just got released, and yes, it isn't very good. This is Lockout!

    Lockout is NOT directed by Luc Besson as the advertisements might make you think. It's written by Luc Besson but directed by two newcomers. It follows Snow (Guy Pearce) as he "sneaks" his way into MS One, a prison IN SPACE in order to rescue the President's daughter Emilie (Maggie Grace) after the prison is taken over by prisoner Alex (Vincent Regan) and his brother Hydell (Joesph Gilgun).
    Lockout doesn't give a whole lot to love. What is good however, is good. Pearce does a good job being likable but still bad-ass. Grace is strong and confident and has good chemistry with Pearce. However, both Regan and Gilgun fail as main villains. Regan is too bland and Gilgun is way too over-the-top. Though, I must say, the film does a good job compensating for it's small, 2 million dollar budget. Other than a laughably bad CGI car chase in the beginning, the sets (While clearly sets) are nice-looking and add a nice atmosphere of claustrophobia.

One kills you in a horrible way. The other's a shotgun.

     The action, however, leaves a lot to be desired. And in an action movie, that's a real bad thing. Pearce make certainly act bad-ass, but he doesn't fight like he is. He's either getting his ass kicked, or he's not doing anything. He never realy has  a bad-ass fight scene and he doesn't even kill the main villains. He just really walks around carrying big guns and never gets to use them.

    And then there's the ending. Don't worry. I'll try to keep this as spoiler-free as I can. Let's just say, the last minute reveal of who the real bad guy is... doesn't make any sense whatsoever. It's ruins a perfectly fine character and leaves the audience with more questions then answers. His "Big Plan" makes no sense and actively got him caught. Plus, there is a seeming moment of sequelbait that's just lame. Or the writers suck. Either one makes more sense than the ending.

It builds strong bones.

    Lockout just isn't very good. While it never is painful to watch and can at times be interesting, there's just so many plotholes that it really can't be enjoyed. The main leads are good, but the villains are awful, the action is lame and the ending is just stupid. Lockout is a failure IN SPACE! Lockout gets 2 and a half stars out of 6.