Escape From New York

I should have prefaced the title with John Carpenter's name as that is how it is shown in the film and it really is a John Carpenter film.  And like Tim Burton has Johnny Depp, John Carpenter's muse is Kurt Russell.
Kurt stars as the character with probably the best name ever created, Snake Plissken.  In 1997 (in the future at the time), a disillusioned ex-war hero, Snake Plissken is captured for robbing a Federal Bank and sent to Manhattan island Prison.  That is, because crime apparently increases 400% in 1988 (once again in the future), they wall off the entire island of Manhattan and make it a prison with no guards.  Coincidentally, as Snake is being processed, Air Force, on it's way to a war summit to stop the war with USSR and China, has been hijacked and is being forced to crash on Manhattan (it was a bit spooky thinking they might pick the WTC to crash into), but the President escapes in a lifepod.  Attached to his wrist is a briefcase with a cassette (yep, no CDs or hard drives in 1981 when this was made!) and what is on the cassette will stop the war.  So the police go in to rescue the President but the residents have him and threaten to kill him if the police come back.  There is a time limit, that if the cassette is not played before the end of the summit in less than 24hrs, then the war will not be able to be stopped.  Their only hope is to send Snake in, promising him a full pardon if he get the President and the tape out in 22hrs.  To give him some incentive, they double-cross him and place two small explosive devices in his arteries that will explode and kill him unless they neutralise the explosives on his return.
Considering this was made in 1981 on a budget of only $6m (half of what Star Wars was made with four years before), John Carpenter has achieved the look of a much bigger budget. Along with Kurt Russell, the movie boasts other stars, such as Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasance, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton and John Carpenter's ex-wife Adrienne Barbeau.
Unfortunately, this movie is a product of it's time and looks and sounds incredibly dated, especially being that it is now 2011 and Manhattan Island is not a prison!  the soundtrack is pretty horrible too, another soundtrack by Mr Carpenter himself.  However, the computer graphics of the flyover of the city are pretty good for their time.
This movie isn't bad, if a little slow in places.  It was obviously more meaningful at the time it was made.  The anti-hero's motivations for his actions at the end of the film are a little unusual.  ##SPOILER ALERT##  Considering he was willing to save individual people along the way, it is hard to consider that now that he has his freedom, he is willing to commit the world and it's population of innocents to the ravages of another world war by destroying the tape.  I find this difficult to comprehend.  Perhaps I need to see the sequel that I have heard so many bad things about?
Also, why do the posters show the head of the Statue of Liberty on the ground, when the statue is shown in the movie undamaged?
If there is ever a movie that requires a remake, this is it.  I think a remake with a much bigger budget could make this story even better.  However, perhaps they need to consider having Kurt Russell return as Snake.  I give this film 6/10.