Review: Escape Plan 2: Hades

A sequel to the largely forgettable 2013 pairing of Eighties action icons Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Escape Plan 2: Hades is about as busy and banal a B-movie as one might expect. Its existence isn't particularly surprising, given the original did brisk business in China, which also explains the story's predominant focus on Huang Xiaoming's Shu, who finds himself in the titular prison.

Stallone reprises his role as security expert Ray Breslin who, along with his elite team of specialists, advise and train prisons on how to prevent inmates from escaping. The team's skills come in handy when Shu, one of Breslin's crew, is, along with his tech expert cousin Yusheng (Chen Tang), kidnapped and thrown into impenetrable facility known as Hades where the warden known as the Zookeeper (Titus Welliver) intends on obtaining the patent for Yusheng's latest technological innovation.

Of course, given the film's title, Hades is not as impenetrable as advertised. Ray and his squad scramble to establish communications with Shu so they can help him and Yusheng escape. In the meantime, Shu buys himself and his cousin some time and safety in the virtual reality fantasy room dubbed the Sanctuary by beating all comers in the daily one-on-one fights forced upon the prisoners by the Zookeeper. Within the Sanctuary, Shu can meditate and call upon the teachings and wise words of Ray, here serving more as a Mr. Miyagi or Yoda figure.

The problem is the whole affair is pretty ho-hum and unimaginatively executed. Cinematographer Brandon Cox relies on fluorescent and neon lighting to lend visual flair to unremarkable and monotonous fight scenes. Hades itself is somewhat slapdash in design, incorporating both medieval and futuristic elements. Director Steven C. Miller is a competent enough director that one couldn't accuse the sequel of being badly made, but he rarely does more than the needful.

As for the performers, Curtis Jackson returns to justify his paycheck. Jaime King looks irked, and Jesse Metcalfe - well, the less said about him, the better. Xiaoming is fine, though unpossessed of the charisma that would overcome this sub-standard material. It also seems a wasted opportunity not to have featured more of Dave Bautista who, in his few scenes, lends an energy that had been sorely lacking in the film.

Escape Plan 2: Hades

Directed by: Steven C. Miller

Written by: Miles Chapman

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Dave Bautista, Huang Xiaoming, Jaime King, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Jesse Metcalfe, Wes Chatham, Titus Welliver, Pete Wentz, Chen Tang