76
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyIt's a toughly told, very tall tale, one of the best escape (and escapist) movies of the season.
- 100Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfThe pleasures are right in your face, beginning with the million-dollar idea of turning NYC into a walled-off prison where criminals run free. Even born-and-raised New Yorkers (of which Carpenter was decidedly not) could smile at that histrionic setup; it’s an outsider’s joke made funny by our willingness to be entertained.
- 80The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsCarpenter's grittily convincing New York-in-decay remains the film's best element. Never particularly suspenseful and hampered by a finale that almost literally steers the plot toward a dead end, Escape only intermittently finds Carpenter flexing his directorial muscles. But it may be his most visionary film: Escape allowed him to build a future out of scraps from the past.
- 80Washington PostWashington PostDirector John Carpenter and producer Debra Hill, the team responsible for "Halloween" and "The Fog," have come up with another B-movie thriller whose ambitions get exceeded by respectable results. [10 July 1981, p.17]
- 75TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineA generally gripping actioner, the film can also be read as a percipient satire of a society irreparably split along lines of class and race.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliEscape from New York isn't really science fiction -- it's an action flick set in a futuristic setting. Epic potential for a masterful, gripping tale is abandoned in favor of cheap thrills.
- 60Time Out LondonTime Out LondonFor about half the film, Carpenter's narrative economy and explosive visual style (incorporating some marvellous model work of the new Manhattan skyline) promise wonders. The trouble is that his characters neither develop nor interact dynamically, so the plot gradually winds down into predictable though highly enjoyable histrionics.
- 60Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrThe movie is never less than entertaining, but it fails to satisfy—it gives us too little of too much. Oddly, much of its pleasure is in the acting, which up to this point hadn't been Carpenter's strong suit: Donald Pleasence, Adrienne Barbeau, and Harry Dean Stanton offer excellent turns.