Escape from the Bronx

Energetic follow-up by director Enzo G. Castellari to his post-apocalypse trash epic "1990: The Bronx Warriors" wasn't long in coming. Mark Gregory reprises his role of super human gang leader Trash, who hooks up with other underground gang members. The omnipotent GC Corporation is now attempting to round up the residents of the Bronx and forcibly "relocate" them. In the company of crusading reporter Moon (Valeria D'Obici) - a truly annoying character - and intrepid guide Strike (Giancarlo Prete), Trash embarks on a mission to undermine the corporation by snatching their boss, Clark (Ennio Girolami), out from under them. In some ways, "Escape from the Bronx" outdoes its predecessor. Fans of Italian post-nuke exploitation will appreciate the wall to wall action, the myriad of explosions, the nonstop onslaught of thoroughly expendable bad guys, the impressive stunts, and the level of violence. Use of locations is excellent, and the look of the picture is just right. The music by Francesco De Masi is good, but it sounds oddly out of tune at times. The pacing is more than adequate, and Castellari (who has an on screen cameo as a mustachioed radio operator) gives the proceedings an undeniably high fun factor. At first, it would seem that the almighty Henry Silva is somewhat wasted in his role as corporation enforcer Floyd Wrangler. But fear not, he does get some juicy Silva-esque moments towards the end, especially when he doesn't get his coffee the way he wants it. Gregory (who's actually dubbed by Steven Luotto) is a hunky plank of wood; Prete is much more engaging in his role. Paolo Malco (as Hoffman), Antonio Sabato (as Dablone), and Romano Puppo (as Trash's father), all add to the movie with their presence. D'Obici is good, even if Moon is overbearing and obnoxious. A guaranteed good time, if one is partial to this kind of entertainment. Seven out of 10.

This is one of the most entertaining flicks I've seen in a long time. If the cool explosions, slow motion, pyrotechnics, music, and funny dialogue don't satisfy you, then I don't know what will. More deaths than a Verhoeven flick, more slow motion than a John Woo flick, what more could you want? Does not retain the same atmosphere that 1990 THE BRONX WARRIORS had, but is almost never boring. I'm not giving anything away, but watch for the great scene when three rebels are gunned down fleeing a man rigged with a bomb. I've seen the movie a dozen times and it still tickles me!

An Italian effort, Escape 2000 leave vast cultural gaps that Americans in general are unlikely to understand. An example is the most mirthful of characters, Toblerone,as played by Italian actor Antonio Sabato. Americans would be considered insane and emotionally unstable to be as mirthful as the wile Toblerone, but it seems that many character actors from Italy portray this happy character type. Further the film takes many stabs at New Mexico, my home state. I can attest that multitudes of people from 'back east' are flocking to places like Rio Rancho and Santa Fe in wholesale droves. The sets are simple and to the point, but the graffiti is 'unAmerican' looking and very tame compared to what can be seen in the Bronx at some places. The hero of the film is portrayed by actor "Mark Gregory" who delivers an uninspired and bland performance. His character development is nil. So poor a hero is the character "Trash" he must subcontract his hero role out to another hero whom in turn must further subcontract the hero role out to his minor son. The major heel is played by Henry Silva whom also delivers a truly sub par performance. He may have out done Mark Gregory in this regard. He delivers his lines in halting parcels, which may be a function of the mechanics of dubbing English onto the Italian the actors were speaking. Silva improved as an actor after this feature which proved that he cannot be counted upon to perform consistently as a feature character. The bad guy stoolies are incompetent to the extreme and like to bellow "Leave the Bronx" and proclaim the virtues of the good housing available in new Mexico. By the end of the movie you'll be saying "Leave the Bronx" to your friends and laughing heartily like Toblerone.

The semi-tough, actually rather effeminate Mark Gregory is back as "that delinquent Trash person" in Bronx Warriors 2, which in my opinion bests the original. It's faster-paced, with more action and more dead bodies, and Mark Gregory's acting has even improved. The story gleefully ups the bleakness quotient, with most of the Bronx gangs having retreated into subterranean hideouts as Disinfestation Annihilation Squads raze the blighted neighborhoods to make way for fascistic urban renewal. Anybody who's seen the first Bronx Warriors knows Trash isn't going to put up with that. If you're in the mood for a cheap 80s action flick that delivers the goods, Bronx Warriors 2 has more than enough gun battles, flamethrowers, exploding miniatures, people dying and flying through the air in slow motion, and scatological dialogue to satisfy. Consider watching it as a double feature with C.H.U.D., which shares several of its elements.

I should have known better – a sequel to a movie (1990: The Bronx Warriors) that itself is barely average. Generally, sequels have a hard time matching the standard set by the original. And even though the standard isn't very high in this case, Escape from the Bronx is a failure in comparison with its predecessor. First, the sequel lacks any imagination. We see the same gunfights and explosions we saw in the first film. Half of the death scenes could have been spliced in from 1990: The Bronx Warrior and I doubt anyone would notice. Second, if possible the acting is even worse this time around. Mark Gregory (and his painted on pants) wasn't much of an actor in the first film. Here, he seems to have regressed. Also, I've read review after review that gush about Henry Silva's performance in Escape from the Bronx. My response – what performance? He spends 90% of his already limited screen-time on the phone. What's so impressive about that? Third, I never thought I would miss Fred Williamson, but he's part of what made 1990: The Bronx Warriors as good as it was. An overacting Antonio Sabato is a poor replacement. And finally, the plot in Escape from the Bronx is completely absurd. The scenes of Manhattan indicate that very little has changed in the future. I would assume that would include people's perceptions on the value of human life. The notion that a company would have a business model that includes wiping-out the citizens of an entire city is ridiculous. That company wouldn't be around very long.

Who was honored at a special "psychotronic" screening at the Paris cinematheque. This one came second after a fairly decent war movie. During Q&A, Castellari did not hide the fact that, for the first movie, Mark Gregory was hired in a Gym in Roma, for his physique more than his non-existent acting skills, which he proved in several movies. Castellari stressed the fact that he was disappointed with Gregory in this one, since he had lost a lot of muscular weight (maybe that's why he never looses his jacket ? And no closes-up, hiding his non-existent acting skills) Anyhoo, it never was an actor to begin with, that is obvious. Anybody knows what became of him ? (Castellari is a pretty nice and jovial man, BTW, very open and straightforward during Q&A) I still think this sequel is better than the original, for what it's worth. Both had huge releases in Europe, with impressive posters, and made good money. Now, you have the same with 50 mil budgets, a few MTV stars and special effects galore… Go figure !

Leave the Bronx! Or in this case, some set in Italy that tries to look like the Bronx. I liked the apocalyptic view of Bronx residents in rags, Broadway costumes, and fay extras. Plus, the Disinfestation squad wearing motorcycle helmets displayed their authority in their shiny silver outfits. Trash, who counts with 8 fingers, is the so-called savior of Bronx. He mostly mumbles with a bad NY accent and looks like a roadie for Whitesnake. The female reporter, Ratwoman, has a face that will give you bad dreams. The best part of this lousy film is Toblerone. It's a barrel of laughs with the Bronx/Italy's charismatic leader. He should do stand-up on the Comic Strip. His facial expressions and jovial accent will have you cheering for TOBLERONE!!

Yet another film with a good idea (using gang violence as an excuse to commit genocide and relocation) totally ruined by haphazard treatment. The heroes (except for Toblerone or Dablone or whatever the hell his name is and that kid that blows stuff up) are totally unappealing. The villains are bland and clichéd. On top of that, the approach is totally unrealistic. How would the evil company get away with burning people out of their homes? Especially when the words "Annhilation Squad" are written clearly on the freaking van???!!!!! That is just writing too bad for words. Now I feel I must bring up two random things. One, what the hell kind of name for a hero is Trash? Second, was that coffee gag with Henry Silva at the end supposed to be funny? I got a bit of a laugh out of it but it was just odd. Now it did have its redeeming qualities to it like the ever-jovial Toblerone and the pyromaniac sixth-grader. I also can't get enough of the fact that this film probably holds some kind of record for most bad guys shot in a film. Can't go wrong with shooting bad guys in my opinion. That is complete awesomeness. Finally, there is the jingle in the end credits so memorably lampooned on MST 3000; I find it kinda catchy. Still, one can only do so much with these redeeming qualities in a film this pedestrian. You will be bored to tears for the first hours. So I will give my now-patented "Stick with the MST 3k" version recommendation.

"Escape 2000" isn't all that bad, even for an Italian knock off. But it should have come with a promotional poster like the old 'generic' foods labels we used to see in grocery stores. "ACTION MOVIE: Contents: Gunshots, Explosions, Stabbings, Flame throwers, Men in Silver Suits Being Thrown Off Catapults, Plot about Underdogs and Antiheroes vs. Greedy Corporations, Aerial Shots of City Skyscrapers, Unappealing Actors, Grainy Photography. 4 ESL Voice Actors (+ Henry Silva) used to dub entire screenplay. OTHER INGREDIENTS: "Oh Sure" moments used to bookend movie to preserve illusion of actual story telling,Inappropriately intense expressions and overacting, Long Frizzy Hair and Heavy Metal guitar riffs." I never saw the original "Bronx Warriors", so I don't know how this movie compares to it, and I may be losing some of the subtext for the story as a result. But as a standalone product, "Escape 2000" is obviously built around a 2nd rate plot and a 3rd rate screenplay, and further hampered by some 4th rate dubbing. The main actors aren't all that bad. Henry Silva can't carry this film, but he's pretty smooth as the 'enforcer'; Mark Gregory ("Trash") is well cast as a scruffy, hardscrabble antihero, but he doesn't so much 'act' as 'project an attitude'. Still, he's OK too, if unexciting. Antonio Sabato gads it up as rebel gang-leader "Dablone", the only really 'larger than life' presence in the film - he's fun to watch, if somewhat tiresome. But it all comes out in these badly mixed, monotonic ESL grunts that pretty much muffle any subtlety and range that the actors might have put into their speeches. I feel bad for them - I can imagine that Gregory thought this might be his big break in America, only to hear his voice on screen make him sound like a dimbulb and a lug when he saw this version. The other big problem is that the screenplay makes all the characters strictly one-note stereotypes. There's no depth to the characters, no variety to what they have to say or the way they say it. Nothing they do surprises the viewer. And there's a deadening sameness to all the action scenes - the same explosions, the same gunshot Foley sounds, the same grimaces and reaction shots. Still, I've seen much worse - I've even seen much worse from the Italian film industry in the 60's-80's. "Hercules Vs. Machiste in the Vale of Woe" and "Devil Fish" makes "Escape 2000" look like Oscar material. I'd have to say this one is for fans of the original "Bronx Warriors" and people who need an action movie "fix" and aren't to choosy about what they watch to get that fix. I'd also sure that I'd like it a lot better (at least 5 out of 10 instead of 3) if I knew Italian and could watch it in the original language instead of this tin-eared, rachet-jawed English dub.

Gaah. Another terrible Italian knock off of an American movie genre. I for one was distracted from the so-called 'plot' by the fact that the dubbing was done by the same company that did Pod People. Listening to them try to do Bronx and Hispanic accents made me wince in horror. The basic story is that its the year 2000, and a giant corporation has decided to level the Bronx(Bronx, Italy, that is)and put up fancy apartment towers and whatnot. The only thing standing in their way are the idiots that live in the Bronx, and for some reason really enjoy squatting in squalor.They've become 'freedom fighters' or something, living in the sewers(good place for them)while battling the extraction crews, who are guys in shiny tinfoil outfits. Their leader is a long haired guy from a Poison cover band aptly named Trash. His parents get toasted by the crews because they refuse to leave their fetid apartment building. Trash then declares war on the corporation and its minions, including Henry De Silva as a psychotic overseer with a scarily high forehead. He joins forces with a Hispanic guy named Toblerone, I guess. This guy is a hoot and a half. His accent alone is a joy, but he also overacts with great joie de vivre. Which makes up for everybody else underacting like crazy. Along with a French resistance fighter, his annoying little Dickenseque brat of a kid, and a shrill voiced female reporter, they set out to kidnap the President of the corporation and hold him hostage, not knowing that his second in command wants to get rid of him anyway so that he can take over and sit in the big leather seat for a change. Somehow these tepid warriors conquer all and save the day, so that these idiots can continue to live in the dirty, unsanitary, polluted Bronx. Hooray for the forces of good! I guess. Once more I have to thank the Italians, for whether they do it deliberately or not, they managed to produce some of the most inadvertently funny movies of all time.