Normally I'm not too much a fan of action movies and John Carpenter has never been on my list of favorite directors. In my opinion he only made one good movie, except for this one of course, and that's "Halloween". But as I already said before, even though I'm normally not a fan of this kind of movies or of the man's work, I must say that I'm glad to make an exception when it comes to this movie. "Escape from New York" may well be seen as one of the better action movies of all times and even after 25 years it still gives me a good time when watching it.<br /><br />Due to huge crime rates in 1997, the US government has changed New York into a maximum security prison where the toughest criminals are put away for life. All the bridges have been mined, a huge wall has been built around the city and a large police force army is stationed near the statue of liberty. Inside this prison it's the survival of the fittest. There are no rules or regulations, except for those made up by the prisoners themselves, making this one of the most dangerous places to be in. When Air Force One, with the President on board, is taken over by a terrorist and crashed into a building, the President is able to escape by ejecting in a pod. But he has landed in the middle of New York and someone needs to get him out of there soon. That's where Snake Plissken comes in. He's an ex-soldier and a new prisoner who is asked to save the President and to find a tape with some important information. In return his sentence will be canceled and Plissken will be a free man again. He agrees, but to make sure that he will return on time, they inject him with a small but powerful explosive that will only be destroyed if his mission is successful. So now he does not only have to take care of the President and try to stay alive in between all those criminals, he also has a lot of time pressure...<br /><br />I must say that this movie reminded me a lot of the Australian "Mad Max"-movies, especially the second one. In case you are wondering if that is a good or a bad thing: I liked those movies and yes I like this one as well. Despite the fact that it was made in 1981, this movie still feels quite futuristic. OK, we know that 1997 wasn't like this, but that doesn't really matter this time. If they had set the date to 2097, this would still have been the same movie and then we wouldn't have know that this was impossible. And the fact that some details show the real age of the movie isn't a bad thing either. Take for instance the computers. They used a lot of flashing lights and stuff like that, but those are only some small details which shouldn't spoil your fun. The acting in this movie is OK as well. This may well have been one of Kurt Russell's best performances and I really loved Ernest Borgnine as Cabbie. I even appreciated Lee Van Cleef in this movie, despite the fact that I'm normally not a fan of the man. I guess I must say that all actors did a good job. <br /><br />As a conclusion I would like to say that a good and still futuristic looking story, some good acting, several interesting action scenes,... make this movie more than just worth a watch. I really like it and that's why I give it a 7/10.