Escape Plan 2: Hades

Escape Plan 2: Hades is a 2018 American direct-to-video prison action thriller film directed by Steven C. Miller. It is the sequel to the 2013 film Escape Plan, and the second installment in the Escape Plan film series. It stars Sylvester Stallone and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson reprising their roles from the first film, with Dave Bautista, Huang Xiaoming, Jaime King, Jesse Metcalfe, Titus Welliver, and Wes Chatham joining the cast. Escape Plan 2: Hades was released straight-to-DVD in the United States but received theatrical releases in such countries as Russia on June 28, 2018 and in China on June 29, 2018. The film received negative reviews from critics, however, it was financially profitable, having grossed $17.6 million[3] in some theaters and $4.1 million[4] in domestic home market against a production budget of $20 million.

Escape Plan 2: Hades
Official DVD/Blu-ray cover
Directed bySteven C. Miller
Produced by
Written byMiles Chapman
Starring
Music byThe Newton Brothers
CinematographyBrandon Cox
Edited byVincent Tabaillon
Production
companies
Distributed byLionsgate Home Entertainment
Release date
  • June 29, 2018 (2018-06-29) (United States)
Running time
96 minutes
Country
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[2]
Box office$17.6 million[3]

A sequel, Escape Plan: The Extractors, was released in 2019.

Plot

Ray Breslin continues to operate his security company to some success, with senior members Hush and Abigail and newcomers Shu Ren, Jasper Kimbral, and Luke Graves as field operators. During a hostage rescue mission in Chechnya, Kimbral, trusting his computer algorithms, deviates from the mission objectives. This results in one of the hostages being shot, later dying of her wounds; Breslin fires Kimbral as a result.

A year later, Shu is contacted by his family to protect his cousin Yusheng Ma. Soon to announce groundbreaking satellite communications technology from his telecommunications company, Yusheng has been targeted by a rival company, Ruscho. After attending a party in Bangkok, Shu defends Yusheng from masked men, but both are stunned with M-26 military-grade tasers and kidnapped.

Later, Shu finds himself imprisoned in an unknown arena, where inmates are forced to fight. Shu is forced to brawl another prisoner and wins, and encounters fellow inmate Kimbral, who explains the prison is called Hades, where he has been held for several months. Luke, Hush, Abigail, and Breslin attempt to locate Shu after his and Yusheng's disappearance.

Drawing on Breslin’s training to formulate an escape plan, Shu meets the warden Gregor Faust, who calls himself the "Zookeeper", and learns that Faust wants Yusheng's communications patents in exchange for their release. Yusheng tells Shu that he buried the technology for fear it could be used to hijack any nuclear launch system in the world, and they resolve to escape.

Breslin determines that Hades is funded by the same mysterious organization who funded the Tomb, and seeks help from an old contact, Trent DeRosa. While following a lead on Shu's disappearance, Luke is caught and transferred to Hades.

Shu befriends the prison cook and learns that the prison layout changes every night. Kimbral reveals that another inmate, a hacker known as Count Zero, knows the layout. Shu earns his trust and Count Zero gives him the information, but in doing so reveals his identity. The following day, Shu, Luke, and Kimbral are brought in for questioning and forced to watch as Count Zero is presumably executed. Kimbral reveals that he actually runs Hades; in the year since being dismissed from Breslin's team, he designed and built Hades to prove his algorithms work and that his prison is literally inescapable, since it is not operated by human guards but rather by an automatic system.

Breslin and DeRosa find clues revealing Kimbral's connection to Hades. Knowing Kimbral is out for revenge, Breslin allows himself to be captured and sent to Hades. Using a hidden communication device in his tooth, Breslin stays in contact with Hush while attempting to breach the prison's defenses from the inside. Breslin, Shu, and Luke formulate a new plan while enlisting the help of Yusheng, the cook, Count Zero's friends, and other inmates. They manage to disable the prison's security cameras and, with Hush's help, temporarily shut down Galileo, the prison's automated defense system. They break into the medical center and attempt to gain control of the prison's systems and get to the control room. The Zookeeper responds with an armed force, and in the ensuing shootout, several inmates are killed and the group becomes separated. DeRosa, following his own leads, locates the prison from the outside.

Yusheng overrides the prison's power systems, alerting DeRosa to the prison's entrance and allowing him to break in. Searching for an exit, Shu kills the Zookeeper in a knife fight as Luke and DeRosa converge on the control room. Breslin faces off with Kimbral in hand-to-hand combat while DeRosa rescues Luke from the prison guards. Breslin defeats Kimbral and together with DeRosa disables Galileo for good. Shu and Yusheng find an exit and are safely extracted by Abigail and Hush. Breslin is contacted by the group behind Hades, and vows to track them down and expose them.

Cast

Production

Development and writing

Development was first announced in October 2016, with Sylvester Stallone returning to star.[5] It was announced in February 2017 that Steven C. Miller would helm the film, and that there was potential for Arnold Schwarzenegger to reprise his role from the first.[6] Chinese film production company Leomus Pictures was set as a co-financer for the film.[7] In March 2017, Dave Bautista, Jaime King and 50 Cent were added to the cast,[8][9] with the additions of Jesse Metcalfe, Pete Wentz and Wes Chatham later in the month.[10]

Filming

By March 22, filming had begun in Atlanta, Georgia, with Stallone sharing a video from the set and revealing the title as Escape Plan 2: Hades, as well as announcing a third film was in development.[11] Tyron Woodley was revealed as part of the cast in April.[12]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 8% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 2.44/10. The site's critical consensus simply reads: "Do not enter."[13]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a "D–" and wrote: "Hades might boast some decent star power, but there isn’t a celebrity in the world who could save this bargain bin nonsense from feeling like a bootlegged ripoff of its own franchise. Not even Arnold Schwarzenegger, who faced off against Stallone in the first one, could have rescued this from abject boredom."[14]

Stallone himself opined that it was the "most horribly produced film I have ever had the misfortune to be in" of his career.[15]

Sequel
Main article: Escape Plan: The Extractors

After the success of the first two installments, in April 2017, a third film entered the early stages of development with Stallone again signed on to reprise his role as Ray Breslin.[16] Dave Bautista also signed on to reprise his role in Escape Plan: The Extractors and filming began in September 2017. Escape Plan: The Extractors had a smaller production budget, but received more positive reviews compared to the second film.

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References
  1. https://www.thefyzz.com/project/escape-plan-2-hades
  2. "Stallone Teases a Robot Brawl in Escape Plan 2 Set Video". Movieweb.com. 22 March 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2020. under a $20 million budget
  3. "Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  4. "Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018)". The Numbers. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  5. Romano, Nick (31 October 2016). "'Escape Plan 2': Sylvester Stallone Planning Another Breakout". Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  6. Evry, Max (8 February 2017). "Escape Plan 2 Director Confirmed as Steven C. Miller". ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline Media. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  7. Brzeski, Patrick (1 February 2017). "Sylvester Stallone's 'Escape Plan 2' Set as China Co-Production". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  8. Kit, Borys (10 March 2017). "Dave Bautista Joining Sylvester Stallone in 'Escape Plan 2' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  9. Pedersen, Erik (11 March 2017). "Jaime King & Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson Break Into 'Escape Plan 2'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  10. Sneider, Jeff (21 March 2017). "Jesse Metcalfe, Pete Wentz Join Sylvester Stallone in "Escape Plan 2"". The Tracking Board. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  11. Coming Soon (22 March 2017). "Stallone Shares Video from the Escape Plan 2: Hades Set". ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline Media. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  12. "Tyron Woodley teases return in July, but who is he fighting?". FOX Sports. Fox Sports Digital Media. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  13. "Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  14. Ehrlich, David (June 29, 2018). "'Escape Plan 2: Hades' Review: Sylvester Stallone and Dave Bautista Are Trapped in Movie Hell". IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  15. Burwick, Kevin (June 29, 2019). "Stallone Trashes Escape Plan 2 as the Most Horribly Produced Movie of His Career". Movieweb. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  16. Evry, Max (12 April 2017). "Escape Plan: The Extractors Set with Sylvester Stallone to Return". ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline Media. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
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