Film Review: Evasive Action (1998)

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State has monopoly of physical violence and doesn’t tolerate when individuals take its prerogative in order to dispense their own sort of justice, regardless how morally justified that action may be. This is something protagonist of Evasive Action, 1998 action film directed by Jerry P. Jacobs, learned in most tragic way. Luke Sinclair (played by Dorian Harewood) couldn’t stand to see the murderer of his wife walk free on legal technicality, so he killed him instead and ended in prison for fifteen years. Although he is considered to be a model prisoner, five months before the end of sentence he is to be transferred to new, supermodern penitentiary together with the most vicious criminals, serial killers, terrorists and Mafia boss Enzo Marcelli (played by Roy Scheider). In order to make the transfer as discreet as possible, the prison authorities have decided to use passenger train. This is, however, used as an opportunity by Marcelli to organise escape with the outside help. The prisoners kill the guards and take control over the train. Sinclair, who very reluctantly joined the escape, later decides to wreck their scheme with the help of Sheriff Wes Blaidek (played by Ray Wise) and waitress Zoe Clark (played by DeLane Matthews).

Makers of Evasive Action don’t hide that their low budget action film is something of a derivative of much more expensive and ambitious Hollywood blockbuster. In this case, it is Jerry Bruckheimer’s 1997 hit Con Air which had similar plot. Scriptwriter Tripp Reed knows that the audience is aware of this, so he even gives implicit hint that the plots of both films might belong to the same fictional universe. Despite lower budget, Evasive Action is actually much better than Con Air. The main reason might be in low budget itself, which precluded use of expensive pyrotechnics those in Bruckheimer’s film. Reed and director Jerry P. Jacobs try to compensate that with much bigger care about actual plot and characters. Although film occasionally slips into cliches, it provides mostly entertaining experience due to the presence of number of actors who used to be great stars in the past (like Roy Scheider) or have built their careers in character roles (like Harewood and Wise). Those actors obviously enjoy rare opportunity to play main roles. Balance between action, drama and humour is well-established which results in unambitious but solid action film.

RATING: 5/10 (++)