Escape 2000

LEAVE THE BRONX. Sign up for a new house in enchanting New Mexico.

Escape 2000, originally known as Escape from the Bronx, is the 1983 sequel to the 1982 post-apocalyptic action film 1990: The Bronx Warriors, which combined The Warriors with Escape from New York in its tale of Rebellious Non Royal Princess Ann falling in love with biker punk Trash as they try to stop her family's Mega Corp from oppressing the Wretched Hive that is THE "future" BRONX. Things don't go well.

Years later, a new Mega Corp, the General Construction Corporation, is planning to put the entirety of THE BRONX through urban renewal, and their Mooks are forcing people to "LEAVE THE BRONX" for new houses in New Mexico by any means necessary -- one way or another. Trash and a few others continue to fight on the surface, but many of the gangs, led by textbook Boisterous Bruiser Dablone, are content to hide underground until everything blows over.

Trash saves an Intrepid Reporter who nearly died trying to expose the truth of the GCC's actions, and she suggests a more direct way to stop the GCC -- kidnap the company's president and hold him hostage!

For the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version, please go to the episode recap page.

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1990: The Bronx Warriors and Escape from the Bronx/Escape 2000 contain examples of:

• A Million Is a Statistic: Both in-universe, GCC causing a genocide in the Bronx and showing no remorse whatsoever; and the movie itself, due to the sheer number of mooks, civilians, and secondary characters in both sides, and all sans two of them wind up dead by the end of Escape 2000.
• Badass: Really this whole "leave the Bronx" thing probably would've worked a lot better if Trash wasn't in town that week.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Dablone, a musclebound gang leader who chews the scenery with gusto.
• Bottomless Magazines
• Brick Joke: Trash gets his team out of a confrontation with the tapdancing Ironmen in the first film by promising to sleep with their leader. In the second film she has a cameo and tells Trash "listen honey, I am still waiting."
• The Cameo: Director Enzo G. Castellari appears as a corporate flunky in Bronx Warriors and the mustachioed radio operator in Escape 2000.
• Camp Gay: Some of Dablone's rebels look more like a Broadway musical cast.
• Canned Orders Over Loudspeaker: LEAVE THE BRONX! YOU ARE ORDERED TO LEAVE THE BRONX!
• Cluster F-Bomb: Examples abound.

Trash: You fuck! It could be a pile of shit from someone's asshole!

• Complete Monster: Floyd Wengler is said to be this in-universe.

Moon Grey: [to a press conference] Now we all know who Floyd Wengler is: a torturer, an expelled prison warder, a KILLER!
Floyd: Mister President...I'm worse than anybody.

• Corrupt Corporate Executive: President Clark, everyone from the Manhattan Corporation.
  • President Clark!?!
  • Actually, Clark is an altar boy compared to his assistant Hoffman, who uses Henry Silva to bump him off and take over as President.
• The Dragon: Floyd Wengler
• Dull Surprise: Trash. Unsurprising since Mark Gregory was a salesman at a shoe store in Rome before Castellari spotted him and made him the lead in these films.
• Dumb Muscle: This was probably not the intention but Trash certainly comes off as this, although moreso in the second film than the first.
• Eighties Hair: Trash looks like the drummer from Ratt...'s brother.
• Every Car/Helicopter Is A Pinto: And all it takes is a few shots from a little revolver. Who knew?
  • Apparently Ford vans will explode if you shoot them with a shotgun.
• Everything Is Better With Explosions: Might be one of the best examples.
• Evil Versus Evil: The company wants to use lethal force to drive out the innocent citizens of THE BRONX, while the "heroes" want to preserve THE BRONX as is to continue selling drugs and ruling through the use of gang violence. Either way, it sucks to be an innocent citizen in THE BRONX.
• Eyepatch of Power: Big Little Man, one of Toblerone's henchmen.
• Fake Nationality: Dablone is an Puerto Rican played by an Italian. These being Italian films set in New York, there's plenty of other examples.
• Gang of Hats
• Hey, It's That Guy: Fred Williamson, Vic Morrow, and Spaghettisploitation star George Eastman in the first film, Henry Silva in the second.
• Hey, It's That Voice: Hammer in the first film is dubbed by the same guy who dubs President Clark in the sequel, and the same guy has lent his voice to quite a few MST3K films.
• Hidden Elf Village: Dablone tries running his underground hideout like one of these under THE BRONX; it doesn't work out that well.
• Intrepid Reporter: Moon Grey and her photographer friend.
• Jerkass
• Kill'Em All: Both films end this way more or less.
  • 1990: The Bronx Warriors: Trash escapes from Ogre's burning compound dragging Hammer's body behind his motorcycle after the National Guard kill the rest of the cast after Hammer kills Ann.
  • Escape 2000: Of the main cast only Strike, Junior and Trash are left alive in war-torn THE BRONX.
• Kill It with Fire: Both movies have Mooks wielding flamethrowers.
• Large Ham: There is no ham too large for DABLONE, eh!? AH-HA-HA-HA!
  • Unless you count the incomparable Henry Silva. PRO-CEEEED!!!
    • Sugar in his coffee makes him CRAZY!
• Made of Explodium: Damn near everything.
• Man On Fire: Several, in fact.
• Mega Corp
• The Mockbuster: The title is an obvious cash-in of Escape from New York. The similarities don't end there, but then again, the plots are completely different.
• Mooks: Oh so many, on both sides.
• Non-Indicative Name: It's not really an escape from THE BRONX. They're welcome to LEAVE THE BRONX. The entire point is not to LEAVE THE BRONX.
• Non Royal Princess: Ann in the first film. She's the daughter of the Manhattan Corporation's president.
• Now What?: Escape 2000's ending suggests that this is what Trash is thinking.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Moon Grey, AKA the Rat Woman.
• Psycho for Hire: Wengler.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Sure Trash manages to stay in the Bronx, but only Junior and Strike survive and everybody else who helped him or wanted to stay in the Bronx is dead, his family is dead, the gangs were completely wiped out, his girlfriend from the first movie is dead, half of the Bronx was destroyed and/or demolished in the battle, the two reporters that tried to expose GCC's genocide in the Bronx are dead, and the General Construction Corporation, the company made the whole mess to begin with is still at large.
• Rebellious Princess: Ann.
• Released to Elsewhere: LEAVE THE BRONX
  • They're being relocated to New Mexico, though if this is true or a lie is anybody's guess.
• Revolvers Are Just Better: Trash racks up an impressive body count with just a small handgun, even managing to destroy a helicopter with it.
• The Starscream: Vice President Hoffman.
• The Strategist: Strike, the master criminal our anti-heroes persuade to help kidnap the GCC president.
  • Moon Grey might count as well, since she's the one who thought up the kidnapping plan to begin with.
• Shrouded In Mystery: Mark Gregory (Trash) vanished from public view and quit acting in about 1989 and hasn't been seen or heard of ever since.
• Tagalong Kid: Junior, Strike's assistant.
• Unknown Rival: Trash and Wengler never meet nor share a single scene together trough all of Escape 2000. Trash never even knows of his existence or plans, and kills him only because the other tried to run him over with a truck and shot him in the process.
• Wretched Hive: THE BRONX
• You Fail Geography Forever: THE BRONX has always been known for its scenic views of Lower Manhattan, and the Williamsburg Bridge is the best way to get to Riverdale.
  • In all fairness, Queens Warriors and Escape from Queens would be lousy titles for a dystopian action film.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Bye bye President Clark.
• You Killed My Father
• You Look Familiar: President Clark from the second film is played by Ennio Girolami, who appears in the first film as an arms company executive. He's also the director's brother.