RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
RT's Blu-ray HQ
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Escape From L.A.
Escape From L.A.

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Escape From L.A. (1996)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
62 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:13

Fresh:8

Rotten:5

Average Rating:6/10

Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: When John Carpenter and Kurt Russell teamed up for this sequel to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, the idea was to kick butt and have fun. They do just that in ESCAPE FROM L.A., an explosive film that... When John Carpenter and Kurt Russell teamed up for this sequel to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, the idea was to kick butt and have fun. They do just that in ESCAPE FROM L.A., an explosive film that recalls the classic original in all the best ways. Infamous adventurer Snake Plissken gets another raw deal when he is forced to rescue the President's daughter from the new prison island of Los Angeles. Mayhem ensues as Snake goes about his mission, leaving a wake of destruction behind him. Lighter and more tongue in cheek than the original, ESCAPE FROM L.A. provides loud, violent fun for both the fans of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK as well as newcomers to the films. There are great cameos provided by Peter Fonda, Bruce Campbell, Pam Grier and many more that give the film an extra layer of entertainment. Great special effects are a given in Carpenter films, and this one is no exception. ESCAPE FROM L.A. is fun fare from a master filmmaker. [More]

Starring: Kurt Russell, Stacy Keach, Steve Buscemi, Peter Fonda

Starring: Kurt Russell, Stacy Keach, Steve Buscemi, Peter Fonda, George Corraface, A.J. Langer, Cliff Robertson, Pam Grier, Valeria Golino, Peter Jason, Michelle Forbes, Paul Bartel, Bruce Campbell, Robert Carradine

Director: John Carpenter

Director: John Carpenter

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Dec 15, 1998

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Escape From L.A.

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 13 (sorted by date)
Text View
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/08/03
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Enjoyable in a playful way

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
10/24/02
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The special effects vary from OK to lame to very lame.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/05/02
Jeff Millar
Jeff Millar
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Dark, percussive and perversely fun.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/18/02
Peter Stack
Peter Stack
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Escape from L.A. is too preposterous to be a good film. But in keeping with its title, it does provide a couple of hours of entertaining escapism.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/12/02
Christopher Harris
Christopher Harris
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Buscemi, Fonda, Robertson, Grier and many others get to make vivid impressions, but of course it's Russell who must carry this swiftly paced picture. As rugged as ever and attractively weathered, he does so with ease.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/14/01
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Tries but fails to be an action-hero flick or even a parody of one.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Esther Iverem
Esther Iverem
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A significant improvement over the first Snake Plisskin adventure.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A poetic pulp movie made with joy.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Intermittently clever ideas are rarely executed to full effect, but the film moves reasonably well on its way to surround-sound pyrotechnics amid a climactic aerial attack.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is the kind of movie Independence Day could have been if it hadn't played it safe.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As amusing as some of its notions may be, none are developed into sustained running jokes.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

John Carpenter's vision of a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles is a go-for-broke action extravaganza that satirizes the genre at the same time it's exploiting it.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 13 (sorted by date)
Text View
all

Latest News for Escape From L.A.

March 23, 2007: Kurt Russell Chimes in On the "Escape from New York" Remake
You know how Gerard Butler was just asked to star in a remake of "Escape from New York"? Well, the original Snake Plissken (that'd be Kurt Russell, of course) is none... More...

August 07, 2006: Snake Plissken to "Escape from Earth"?
John Carpenter's "Escape from New York" is a true-blue cult classic among (male) movie fans of a certain age (old, like me), but the goofy follow-up, "Escape from... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Total Recall

Total Recall

John Travolta's top reviewed movies

Disney Countdown

Disney Countdown

Look back on Disney's best animated movies!

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

What's Coming Out

What's Coming Out

Find movies for the holiday weekend!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • First Look (Sort Of) at New Nightmare's Freddy Source: ShockTillYouDrop.com
14
  • First Look at Shrek Forever After Source: USA Today
36
  • Woody Harrelson Will Battle Zombies in 3-D Source: Moviehole
16
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
34
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
10
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
116
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
176
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
130
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
76
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
75
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
58
  • Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
37
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
32
  • WB offers DVD to Blu-ray Trade-In Program
26
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Angels & Demons, Funny People, and Superman
18
  • Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer
17
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
13
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
9
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
20
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Escape From L.A. at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Wes Anderson on Fox
Wes Anderson on Fox External Link

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Animated Oscar?
Animated Oscar? External Link

Hollywood.com ponders whether or not an animated film could win Best Picture.

TIME's Holiday Movie Preview
TIME's Holiday Movie Preview External Link

Richard Corliss previews the season's best offerings and hottest tickets.

Scenic Routes
Scenic Routes External Link

The AV Club's Mike D'Angelo airs his beefs with Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.