Lockout: by-the-numbers film that lacks thrills

Guy Pearce's prisoner is offered a deal: break into a rioting prison and save the president's daughter in exchange for freedom.

Guy Pearce in Lockout. Courtesy Everett Collection
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Directors: Stephen St Leger and James Mather
Starring: Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace
**

Prisoner Snow (Pearce) is offered a deal: break into a rioting prison and save the president's daughter (Grace) in exchange for freedom.

The reality of the mission, however, is deadlier than he expected. Set in outer space, Lockout struggles to overcome the many disparate clichés thrown together by the filmmakers, meaning talented leads wade through bad dialogue and a story that borrows heavily from past sci-fi movies.

It's interesting at times, but offers no surprises, and is capped by an underwhelming climax featuring amateurish special effects (the ultimate sin for any space movie). While Pearce is charismatic and clearly committed, even he cannot save a by-the-numbers film that fails to excite or thrill, thanks to a lack of originality and a terrible script.