Lockout (film)

EuropaCorp

Company type	Film production company
Industry	Film production
Founder	Luc Besson
Headquarters	Paris , France
Key people	Luc Besson (executive producer)
Products	Films (including Lockout)

Lockout, also released under the title MS One: Maximum Security, is a 2012 French-produced, English-language sci-fi action film directed by James Mather and Stephen Saint Leger. The screenplay was co-written by Mather, Saint Leger, and Luc Besson, who additionally acted as executive producer via EuropaCorp. The film features performances by Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, and Vincent Regan. This project represents the first feature-length directorial effort for both Mather and Saint Leger. The storyline follows Snow (Pearce), a man falsely accused of a crime, who is offered his freedom if he can rescue Emilie (Grace), the President’s daughter, from MS One, an orbital prison seized by inmates led by Alex (Regan) and his brother Hydell (Gilgun).

The premiere of Lockout took place on 7 April 2012 at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film, with subsequent releases in North America and France during April 2012. Critical reception was mixed overall, though Pearce's portrayal received commendation.

Plot

Set in the year 2079, CIA agent Snow is imprisoned for allegedly killing Colonel Frank Armstrong, who had discovered a traitor leaking secrets about the U.S. space program. Despite Snow’s insistence that he was aiding Armstrong, Secret Service Director Scott Langral, acting under presidential advice, convicts him of murder and espionage. Snow receives a 30-year sentence at MS One, a high-security space prison where inmates are maintained in stasis. Snow’s ally Harry Shaw contacts Mace, Snow’s informant who holds knowledge about the location of Frank's briefcase containing stolen intelligence.

The President’s daughter Emilie arrives at MS One to examine reports that stasis causes psychological instability. Following an interview with a disturbed prisoner, Hydell escapes custody and sparks a riot led by his brother Alex, taking Emilie and others hostage. Shaw convinces Langral and the President to deploy Snow on a mission to rescue Emilie. Initially hesitant, Snow consents upon learning Mace is imprisoned there and could assist in proving his innocence. Langral attempts to negotiate with Alex but is thwarted when Hydell kills a hostage negotiator, compelling Snow to infiltrate the facility. Emilie manages to escape with her bodyguard Hock but must leave him behind due to oxygen depletion.

Snow successfully frees Emilie, disguises her to avoid detection, and locates Mace, whose dementia from prolonged stasis renders him incoherent. As the prison loses orbit and collides with the International Space Station—resulting in Mace’s death during a hull breach—they attempt to reach an escape pod with only one seat. Realizing he has been sent on a suicide mission, Snow prioritizes Emilie's evacuation while she remains to protect other hostages. Hydell threatens and kills hostages despite Emilie's compliance.

Together, Snow and Emilie uncover evidence that prisoners were subjected to illegal experiments. Alex captures Emilie again and shoots Snow, leaving him presumed dead. Alex threatens the President with harm unless prisoners are released; refusing to yield to siege tactics, the President is temporarily removed from command by Langral, who orders destruction of MS One. Hydell attempts to assault Emilie but is killed by Alex; Snow arrives just in time to save her from Hydell’s attack. They escape as Langral’s forces bomb the prison. Donning spacesuits, Snow and Emilie re-enter Earth's atmosphere and land safely in New York City where Snow is taken into custody.

Emilie decodes Mace’s ramblings as a cipher revealing Frank’s briefcase location. She realizes Langral misread evidence showing Snow firing at Frank's assassin simultaneously with Frank being shot. During interrogation, Snow hands Shaw the briefcase; when it is found empty, Shaw is exposed as the mole and arrested. Snow regains his freedom along with his belongings, including a lighter containing a memory card with genuine secret data left by Frank. Emilie learns that Snow’s first name is Marion before they depart together.

Cast

• Guy Pearce portrays Marion Snow:
  A former government agent wrongfully accused of espionage against the United States. To convincingly embody an action hero physique after initial concerns about his build, Pearce undertook a high-protein diet combined with weight training.
• Maggie Grace plays Emilie Warnock:
  The President of the United States' daughter. Grace performed many of her own stunts after training extensively in combat techniques and wire work; she was attracted to this role due to prior collaborations with Besson and the character's empowered nature.
• Joe Gilgun appears as Hydell:
  The unstable brother involved in the inmate uprising.
• Vincent Regan acts as Alex:
  The prisoner leading the rebellion.
• Lennie James features as Harry Shaw:
  A corrupt CIA officer.
• Peter Stormare plays Scott Langral:
  Head of the United States Secret Service; Stormare was drawn to this role due to its morally ambiguous characteristics.

Additional cast includes Jacky Ido as Hock, Emilie's bodyguard; Tim Plester as Mace, Snow's contact; Mark Tankersley portraying prison warden Barnes; Anne-Solenne Hatte as Kathryn, Emilie's assistant; Peter Hudson as President Jeff Warnock; and Miodrag Stevanovic as CIA agent Frank Armstrong.

Development

Filming commenced on 7 September 2010 in Belgrade, Serbia. The production heavily utilized green screen technology, with scenes storyboarded beforehand in Dublin to assist actors in visualizing computer-generated settings. Grace remarked on the difficulty of performing amid empty spaces.

Produced by Luc Besson, who also co-authored the screenplay alongside directors James Mather and Stephen Saint Leger.

FilmDistrict secured distribution rights, later collaborating with Open Road Films for releases including Lockout during 2012.

Release

The film premiered theatrically on 13 April 2012 across North America and followed on 18 April 2012 in France. It became available for home viewing on Blu-ray and DVD starting 17 July 2012.

Box office

Lockout earned $14.3 million domestically (United States and Canada) and $17.9 million internationally, totaling $32.2 million worldwide. Its North American opening weekend grossed $6.23 million from 2,308 theaters, ranking ninth at the box office—consistent with pre-release projections between $6 million and $8 million. The audience skewed predominantly male (65%), evenly divided between those younger than 25 and older.

Critical response

On Metacritic, Lockout received an average score of 48 out of 100 based on reviews from 32 critics, reflecting mixed opinions. Rotten Tomatoes assigned it a 38% approval rating from 123 reviews with an average rating of 5/10; critical consensus acknowledged Guy Pearce's committed performance but criticized the film for lacking originality and depth. CinemaScore reported audiences gave it an average grade of "B−". Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly rated it C, describing it dismissively as "space junk in the final frontier." BoxOffice magazine branded it a "sleek, slick and shameless rip-off" reminiscent of John Carpenter's Escape from New York and its sequel Escape from L.A.

Legal action

In 2015, director John Carpenter filed a lawsuit against Lockout's creators in the French Tribunal de grande instance de Paris for alleged plagiarism of his films Escape from New York and Escape from L.A. The court ruled in favor of Carpenter awarding him €20,000 in damages; screenwriter Nick Castle received €10,000; StudioCanal was ordered to pay €50,000. Following Luc Besson's unsuccessful appeal in July 2016, total damages were increased to €450,000.

See also

• List of films set on space stations