Escape from L.A. Bursts onto 4K Ultra

Kurt Russell reprised his surly Snake Plissken in John Carpenter's dystopic Escape From L.A., the sequel to his much better effort, Escape from New York. In this sequel, California has been destroyed by a cataclysmic earthquake, leaving the city of Los Angeles as an island. The rest of the union has fallen to the rule of a theocratic President (Cliff Robertson) who has turned the disconnected city into a prison for the nation's undesirables -- those who engage in activity that run counter to his faux-Christian fascism.

Snake is called into duty when a terrorist (Georges Corraface) entices the First Daughter, Utopia (A.J. Langer) to join in his revolution. Snake's mission is to retrieve Utopia and foil the terrorist's plans. But Los Angeles is a minefield of criminals, and the true motives behind Plissken's mission are even more twisted than the island's inhabitants.

Escape from L.A. is a movie of moments, involving Snake's encounters with some of the more colorful residents; residents like surfer dude Pipeline (Peter Fonda), an organ farming plastic surgeon (Bruce Campbell), and Map to the Stars Eddie (Steve Buscemi). All of these characters serve their part in Snake's quest.

Now available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, this 1996 film looks more like it was done in the 1980s, keeping with the aesthetic of the first film. It's not as memorable as its predecessor, but it's worth a watch if you pair the two films up for a double-feature night.

Watch Escape From L.A. on any of the streaming services listed here.