Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018)

Directed by: Steven C. Miller | 105 minutes | action, thriller | Actors: Sylvester Stallone, Dave Bautista, Xiaoming Huang, Jesse Metcalfe, 50 Cent, Wes Chatham, Chen Tang, Tyron Woodley, Tyler Jon Olson, Titus Welliver, Shea Buckner, Jaime King, Lydia Hull, Ashley Cusato, Yifan Luo

The fact that a sequel to a successful film appears on video rather anonymously does not bode well. ‘Escape Plan 2: Hades’ did not even make it to the (Dutch) cinemas and was condemned to a life in the lowest caves of the video store. Pity is unnecessary, though, because this sequel isn’t that great to say the least.

‘Escape Plan 2: Hades’ centers on Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) and his elite team. This company is trained to free people from the most impenetrable prisons in the world. Always useful. When a team member is kidnapped and held captive in an impenetrable fortress, there is only one squad that can come to the rescue.

To put it very bluntly, this sequel has no right to exist. The 2013 original was a success, as two eighties icons in the form of Sylvester ‘Sly’ Stallone and Arnold ‘Arnie’ Schwarzenegger came together. In the 1980s they were competitors, but in 2013 the seniors buried the hatchet and lived on nostalgia. A lot of people who grew up with these muscles wanted to see the once sworn enemies together in one movie. Thanks to their charisma, Sly and Arnie managed to make a decent movie. The stunts were okay and for their age the duo still looked reasonably fit. In addition, Mikael Håfström’s direction was solid and the action remained clear and entertaining.

Unfortunately, this sequel has to do without Schwarzenegger. Dave Bautista cannot fill the gap left by the Austrian Oak. After all, he is not an eighties icon and not nearly as famous as Arnie. In addition, ‘Escape Plan 2: Hades’ is mainly a very boring and poorly made film. For example, the swinging camera is very annoying and a very cheap way to disguise the lack of choreography. The action scenes are very chaotic and headache-inducing. You can no longer gain weight with these kinds of tricks in 2018.

Director Steven C. Miller is clearly making a mess of it. Sly also doesn’t feel like it and looks absently for the entire film. This production has only losers. The ‘good’ name of the original is tarnished by this sequel, Stallone sinks deeper into the doldrums and Bautista’s carefully built career (he was finally back in well-received films like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Blade Runner’ after a number of B-movies ‘) gets a kick out of this production. Do yourself a favor and let this movie escape your attention. You don’t need a plan.