Lockout

In this derivative sci-fi thriller, set in 2079, a falsely convicted rogue government agent named Snow (Guy Pearce) is given his one chance for freedom when Emilie Warnock (Maggie Grace), daughter of the U.S. president, is taken hostage at MS One, an outer-space maximum-security prison that maintains 500 convicts in cryogenic stasis. Snow is sent to rescue Emilie, who went to the experimental, high-tech penal colony on a humanitarian mission to study prisoner conditions. Also thrown into the mix is a mysteriously missing metal attaché case that contains top secret government papers. Chaos reigns during the predictably excessive shootouts in directors Stephen St. Leger and James Mather's Lockout—co-written by Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita)—which lifts recognizable, clichéd elements from Escape from New York, Battlestar Galactica, Die Hard, and even James Bond. Filmed in Serbia with clumsy CGI effects, it looks like what it is: a cheesy B-movie. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Breaking Into Lockout” making-of featurette (11 min.), “A Vision of the Future” segment on special effects (10 min.), trailers, and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an unremarkable film.] (S. Granger)