Let's be realistic.

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The first time I saw this I was appalled. My point of reference was the original. A few years later I re-watch with my standards lowered and I enjoyed it more. It's all relative really. It's not a great movie by any means and you can see Carpenter's decline taking effect. The movie is just a re-hash of the original but set to kitchy special effects and a more lighter fun tone. To be honest, the cartoon CGI, and silly things like surfing a wave, which bothered me the first time didn't this time. He obviously is going for a cheesy look and to a certain degree it works if you forget about the first movie. Some people will love the style, die hard original fans will hate it. It works on some levels but I just can't help preferring the dark, minimalist, sleazy, atmospheric menacing tone of the first. My main issue with this sequel on second viewing is the lightweight villain. It's just an actor in a Che Guevera costume with no real menace at all and therefore any tension and urgency is lacking. Th final scene is also a big set piece that looks more like a universal studios special effects and fire show than an actual place where a story is taking place. A fairly entertaining movie but a far cry of the original

Yet, again another cool action sci-fi from the master of genre movies John Carpenter, although its not quite as good as the original it's still a lot of fun and certainly still stands up as a cult classic sequel, the story is pretty much the same as before accept it's L.A. that's now also been sectioned off and the whole island is now a prison, the presidents daughter with the black box has fallen into terrorist hands within the walls of L.A and only one man can save the day, Snake is captured once again and promised a full pardon for the bad things he's been doing between movies, this time around there's plenty more action and shootouts and going underwater, flying, and lots of crazy effects, some of the effects are a tad cheesy but its the mid 90's and they still look cool, the cast has a few more famous faces this time with Steve Buscemi, Valeria Golino, Pam Grier, Bruce Campbell.The costumes and sets are very good and make the dystopian feel of future L.A. completely believable and engrossing to experience. This film is a Sci-fi romp with a little gore and black humor thrown in for good measure, as only John Carpenter can deliver it. The movie itself leaves a lot to be desired. In short,if you're not a Snake fan you probably won't enjoy it.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Greetings from Lithuania."Escape from L.A." (1996) is an ultimate flick with one of the screen bad asses - Snake Plissken himself. This is a great action / sci-fi flick that features a lot of action, very cool settings and a simple yet entertaining plot. Kurt Russel once again star in a underrated but iconic role of the 80's hero, or in this case maybe antihero, as Snake Plissken never was a "save the universe" type of a guy, he as well as John Macklane were dudes that always were in the middle of events that they didn't want it to be. There are cool special effects, great cameos, cartoonish but cool for the flick characters and so on.Overall, "Escape from L.A." is a very cool and unfortunately underrated gem from 90's. It features everything that pure escapism picture could have. Do your self a favor and check this picture - 2 hours of pure escapism is a guaranty.

John Carpenter's totally unnecessary sequel to his classic Escape From New York. It's really just a retread of that movie with a very similar plot, similar characters, lines, situations, etc. The biggest differences being now there's a lot more campy humor and some very poor CGI. Also the supporting cast is nowhere near as good and, unlike the first movie, everybody seems very aware that they are in a sequel to a popular movie and play it up as such. It's likable enough and watchable. This is mostly due to Kurt Russell's screen presence and the little Carpenterisms sprinkled throughout. But it's not a patch on the original and ultimately there's not a lot to recommend about it to anybody who isn't a die-hard Carpenter fan.