Kurt Russell’s career is filled with memorable roles, but perhaps his most iconic is that of Snake Plissken in Escape from New York and its sequel, Escape from L.A. Directed by John Carpenter, Escape from New York introduces the anti-hero of Snake, a former war hero who has become a renowned criminal in the new dystopian world of 1997. He is forced by the military to enter New York City, which is now a prison island, in order to save the president. Escape from L.A. follows a similar plot with Snake venturing into the detention center of Los Angeles.

Snake Plissken immediately became a fan-favorite character when he was introduced in the original movie. He is a staunchly anti-authority rebel who really only cares about survival in this new world, but also has a sense of honor that can be overlooked. Russell gives an outstanding performance in the role, doing a lot with very little and making Snake a new kind of action hero who isn’t really interested in saving the day.

10

Snake Gets His ᴀssignment

Escape From New York

The reluctance and anti-authority nature of Snake Plissken is one of the reasons he is just a fun character to follow in these movies. Unlike so many other heroic characters in the action genre, he is not at all interested in saving the day and has complete disdain for being dragged along on these missions. That is readily apparent as soon as he is introduced in the movie.

Just from the way Snake sits in a chair and listens to the commanding officer, Hauk (Lee Van Cleef), explain the scenario, Russell nails Snake’s disinterest in being a part of any of this. Despite his stoic demeanor, he even gets some moments of comedy as Hauk gravelly tells him the president is missing in the lawless city of New York, to which Snake replies, “President of what?“

9

Snake’s Déjà Vu

Escape From L.A.

Part of the reason there has never been a third Snake Plissken movie was because of the poor reception, both critically and financially, for Escape from L.A. Despite it being better than the reviews suggest, the criticism of Escape from L.A. being too similar to Escape from New York is valid, as it gives Snake a very similar plot and follows very similar plot beats and character archetypes. However, the sequel also seemed to acknowledge the similarities in a humorous early scene.

As Snake arrives at the military base on the outskirts of Los Angeles, he is escorted to an empty room. On the desk is a wristband timer and tracking device, almost identical to the one he wore in the first movie. As soon as the military officials enter the room, Snake tells them, “Just get to the deal.” It is a great moment of him realizing that he has been in this situation before and is being forced on yet another dangerous mission.

8

Snake Brings A Gun To A Knife Fight

Escape From L.A.

Snake Plissken is an action hero like no other, but he does take influence from other cinematic heroes who came before him. While there would not seem to be a lot of similarities between Snake and Indiana Jones, Snake does seem to pay homage to the famous moment in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indy decides to save himself some time and energy and simply shoots a swordsman ᴅᴇᴀᴅ on the spot.

Escape from L.A. delivers a similar moment that is also more cold-blooded and fun. After pushing his way through a Los Angeles club, Snake angers a local goon who follows him out into the street. As the goon tries to confront Snake, he walks away, hellbent on his mission. However, as soon as the goon pulls a knife, Snake simply turns with his gun and blows the man away without even stopping in his determined stride.

7

Snake Pulls A Switch

Escape From L.A.

While both movies see Snake used as a tool and forced into his mission, the villains in Escape from L.A. also enjoy humiliating Snake. During their first meeting, Snake tries to attack the President (Cliff Robertson) and Commander Malloy (Stacy Keach), only to reveal that they are holograms and not even in the same room. It is a trick Snake remembers.

It is a great moment of Snake proving he is not a man who should be underestimated, and despite not having much of a sense of humor, he will get the last laugh.

After returning from the mission with the sensitive piece of technology, Snake repeats a trick from the first movie and switches the devices. When the President discovers he’s been tricked, he orders Snake killed. However, when the firing squad unloads their weapons, Snake is still standing, revealing he used the same hologram trick on them. It is a great moment of Snake proving he is not a man who should be underestimated, and despite not having much of a sense of humor, he will get the last laugh.

6

Snake Questions The President

Escape From New York

There are many instances in these movies that solidify the fact that Snake is a man who is looking out for himself and no one else. However, there is a deleted scene in Escape from New York that also sheds light on his more compᴀssionate side when it comes to the people he is in the trenches with. The deleted scene finds Snake and a fellow criminal running from the police, only for his partner to get injured. Instead of getting away, Snake returns to help the man.

It is Snake’s tribute to the fallen as well as a sign of his desire to hold those in power accountable.

While Snake doesn’t show a lot of affection for the other escapees he’s with in Escape from New York, the ending does mirror that sentiment shown in the deleted scene. The President (Donald Pleasence) is legitimately thankful for Snake rescuing him and offers him anything he wants as payment. Snake only has one question: “We did get you out. A lot of people died in the process. I just wondered how you felt about that.” It is Snake’s tribute to the fallen as well as a sign of his desire to hold those in power accountable.

5

Snake’s Bangkok Rules

Escape From L.A.

Kurt Russell based his performance as Snake Plissken on Clint Eastwood’s Western movie heroes, including The Man with No Name in the Dollars Trilogy. It is not hard to see the inspiration, with his gruff delivery, his silent approach, and his icy stare. Snake also gets some great moments to show off his Wild West gunslinger skills, including his funny moment from Escape from L.A.

As Snake becomes surrounded by a number of armed thugs, he suggests they play Bangkok rules. He picks up a can off the ground and tells the other men, “Nobody draws until this hits the ground.” To their credit, the thugs agree. Snake then throws the can in the air, and as the thugs watch it go up, he pulls his guns and shoots them all. It is a great moment that shows Snake is not the kind of hero who is looking for a fair fight.

4

Snake Switches The Tape

Escape From New York

Part of the reason that Snake’s mission to save the President in Escape from New York is on such a time constraint is that the President is meant to present a very important bit of information at a global summit. The MacGuffin in the movie is a cᴀssette tape that includes a speech describing nuclear fusion, which is meant to be shared with the world leaders in a hopeful gesture of peace and unity.

Snake gets the President back in time to video call into the summit and even saves the tape. In the biggest laugh in the movie, the President plays the tape only to reveal that it is one of Cabbie’s (Ernest Borgnine) old ragtime music cᴀssettes. Snake has the real tape and proceeds to destroy it. The moment is a defining one for Snake as he is willing to destroy the thing he risked his life for, just because he doesn’t like those in power.

3

Snake’s Fight To The Death

Escape From New York

Snake is a gunfighter and survivor, but it is not as if he is the biggest action hero there is. He can handle himself in a fight, but he also gets beaten around a fair bit in these movies. That makes his baseball bat fight in Escape from New York one of the best set pieces in the series, as it proves that Snake’s fight to live can overcome just about any opponent.

After being captured by The Duke (Isaac Hayes), Snake is thrown into a gladiator-like fight against a mᴀssive opponent, which is basically meant to be Snake’s death sentence. With the two fighters armed with baseball bats with nails sticking out of them, it looks to be a painful death, too. While Snake gets thrown around a lot, he is also faster, leading to the sudden moment he gets behind his opponent and drives the spiked back into the back of his head. The suddenness of the kill and the stunned silence of the crowd cemented Snake’s icon status.

2

“Call Me Snake”

Escape From New York

The name of Snake Plissken is so cool, it only adds to the legendary status of the character. In fact, the name was even borrowed for the character of Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid. Such a cool name deserves an introduction that does it justice, and Escape from New York delivers that with Russell’s first line in the movie.

After being brought in to meet with Hauk, the military man runs through Snake’s background, referring to him as “Plissken.” However, in almost a whisper, Snake responds, “Call me Snake.” It is a sign of his rejection of this military bond that Hauk is going for, wanting to keep things informal. However, this gets a hilarious callback at the end as Hauk tries to convince Snake to take a job with him, only for Snake to reply, “The name’s Plissken,“ showing he’s not interested in being friends.

1

Snake Shuts Down The World

Escape From L.A.

As much as Escape from L.A. is seen as a vastly inferior sequel, it has a lot going for it in terms of world-building and fun. It also has an ending that tops the fantastic conclusion of the first movie. Whereas the MacGuffin in Escape from New York was a tool used for peace, Escape from L.A. introduces a piece of futuristic tech that can shut down all technology in a targeted area. The President wants to use it to take down their invading enemies.

In the end, it is Snake who holds this vital piece of tech. Not really wanting either side of the war to win, Snake uses it to shut down all of the technology in the world, sending it back into the dark ages. The movie ends with Snake lighting a match and giving a rare smile as he seems to have found a new world order in which he feels comfortable. It is a shame there was no sequel, as it would be fascinating to see what came next.