Lockout isn’t going to win any awards, get any critical acclaim, or even make a lot of money (less than $10 million so far), but I loved it.

Guy Pearce plays Snow (his first name is not revealed until the end of the movie).  He is an agent of some government agency, but I don’t think they ever say which one.  He is wrongly convicted of murdering another agent, but before he can begin serving his sentence, he is given the opportunity for a pardon.  All he has to do is rescue the President’s daughter from a space station prison where nearly 500 of the Earth’s worst criminals are in control.  In the process he needs information from one of the inmates to help him prove his innocence and find the real murderer.

Is it short on story?  Yes.  Is there completely nonsensical technology?  Yes.  Is the acting atrocious?  Yes.

None of that matters.  Snow is irreverent and sarcastic, always has a one liner or snide comment to make, and is just plain hysterically funny.  At one point the head of the Secret Service is asking him for a name.  His response, “Fuck you.  He’s Asian.”  I almost fell out of my chair.

The story is predictable, but Guy Pearce plays Snow so well and with such perfect timing in his dialogue, I think it makes up for it.

Definitely worth seeing if you like Jason Stratham type sci-fi action movies, but with the main character having awesome comedic timing.  I would very much like it if they did more movies with Snow, even if they are direct to DVD releases.

Thanks for reading!