set in the dark future of 1997 . . . okay and so john carpenter post apocalyptic vision of the future do not exactly come true and but escape from new york still hold up a a darn fine low budget sci fi or action flick . snake plissken ( a play by kurt russell ) be still one of the cool anti hero ever to grace the silver screen and and the story still contain some great scene and dialogue . . . so who care if part of it look like low budget cheese . as long a you can appreciate great low budget cheese and you will be fine . escape from new york be set in the supposedly dark future of 1997 and where the island of manhattan and completely overrun with criminal and terrorist and have be wall off and turn into a federal prison colony by the united states government . the most vicious and ruthless criminal in america aren not send to regular prison anymore . . . theyre simply drop into the walled confines of manhattan and where they face the choice of be kill by the other criminal live on the island or be kill by government sharpshooter if they try to climb the wall and escape the prison colony . so and new york have be transform into a lawless hellhole where murderer rule the street and and from which escape be impossible . . . and exactly where air force one have just crash land and with the president of the united state ( donald pleasance ) aboard . to rescue the president and the president unknown but valuable cargo military man bob hauk ( lee van cleef ) decide to send the best man for the job into the heart of this lawless hellhole . that man be snake plissken ( russell ) and an ex soldier and former war hero who no long take order from any man but who face execution unless he can bring the president back from new york alive . . . escape from new york feature a terrific plot a it foundation and a great cast for support . it the detail and though and where the film start to slip . some of the detail both in term of story and production be quite good and others . . . well and they will make you wince . director ( and script co writer ) john carpenter be smart enough to keep thing simple and to keep everything move along at a rapid pace while whenever thing start move into the realm of the laughably stupid and something new and cool happens onscreen to wipe that stupidity away . it a story paint with very broad and vivid stroke while everything seem very cool and make sense as long a you do not dwell on the detail . carpenter also take what advantage he can from his low budget and low production value almost everything be film in the dark and and a lot be film indoors while also and everything ( prop and costume and etc . ) be deliberately give a cheap and dirty look and rather than attempt to make thing look good with no money . not only do these move let escape from new york look as good a it possibly can and but it also fit the feel of the gritty and dark future that already permeate the film . the character in escape from new york and though and be what really make the film shine . donald pleasance be perfectly cast and perfectly scummy a the president and who be little more than a weasel in a three piece suit . it great to watch pleasance strut around pompously in the beginning of the film hey and after all and he the president of the united state and then eventually be reduce to a pathetic and animal like and gun wield thug and no good than any other criminal trap within the wall of manhattan . ernest borgnine serve up some welcome comic relief a the cheerful cabbie and who possibly the only happy person still live in new york . isaac hayes and of all people and turn out to be very good a the a number one duke of new york while he not exactly what you would expect from a movie villain and but he definitely make the part distinctly his own . lee van cleef be great a the no nonsense bob hauk while he play hauk in a low key but menace manner that stand out nicely against the over the top performance put in by nearly every other actor . but escape from new york be really snake plissken movie and and kurt russell be the reason that snake plissken be one of the best movie anti hero of all time . partly borrow from clint eastwood man with no name character and snake plissken be a man who go to do whatever he feel be right or necessary and and order be damn . he doesn not say much he usually let his gun or his fist speak for him but when he do speak and he doesn not mince word . it interest to note that nearly every other character in escape from new york be a liar of some sort with selfish hidden agenda . . . not snake . he always speak his mind and he nearly always speak the truth and and ironically and he the most dangerous character in the movie . kudos to kurt russell for make snake plissken one of the best sci fi or action character of all time . for snake plissken alone and it a genuine pleasure to watch escape from new york . director john carpenter will probably never be appreciate for what he be the master of the modern b movie . along with halloween and they live and the film escape from new york stand a one of the great modern b movie ever make . carpenter film often look like they have the budget of a high school musical production and but they usually at least manage to be original and entertaining . . . which be something more than a lot of recent $ 100 million dollar so call blockbuster can claim . ( forget the production value while i will watch escape from new york over the soulless and spectacularly unoriginal tomb raider any day of the week . ) escape from new york might not be one of the slick or best produce action film ever make but it be one of the cool action film and and certainly one of the most memorable one . it might seem cheesy in place and or a little raw and crude in others . . . but it get heart and and it get gut and and in the end and that what really matter . a great action flick and and one of the best b movie ever make . grade represent a .