Tombstone gave Kurt Russell his most iconic Western shootout, but his coolest showdown actually came with Escape from L.A. This John Carpenter movie is the belated sequel to Escape from New York, arriving 15 years after the original made Kurt Russell a movie star.
In truth, Escape from L.A. is probably the weakest of Kurt Russell and John Carpenter’s movie collaborations, which yielded classics like The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China. The sequel is fun with the right mindset, but its terrible CGI and the fact it basically remakes the original are two marks against it.
Its failure also killed plans for a third movie тιтled Escape from Earth. Still, the sequel has some standout sequences, including a cool moment where Snake is cornered by four gunmen following a car chase.
Kurt Russell’s Coolest Western Duel Came In Escape From L.A.
I guess the gunmen hadn’t played “Bangkok Rules” before
Being surrounded by four guys with machine guns should spell the end for Russell’s antihero Snake Plissken, but he just calmly states, “I’m going to give you a*******” a chance.” Then Snake declares they’re going to play “Bangkok Rules,” where he throws a can into the air with the simple rule that they can’t draw until it hits the ground.
Carpenter infuses this Escape from L.A. scene with a little Sergio Leone energy, drawing out the tension until Snake tosses the can upwards. The men look up in the air as Snake then draws his two revolvers, gunning them down before the can returns. When it clangs to the ground, Snake lets out a dry “Draw.”
While there are rumors that John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars began life as the third Snake Plissken movie, the director himself has debunked this.
Escape from L.A. is a so-so sequel, but this is a gem of a scene that is both funny and revealing of Snake as the ultimate antihero. It should be noted that Snake technically didn’t cheat, since the rules didn’t state that he couldn’t draw before the can returned.
The Escape From… Movies Are Westerns In Disguise
Most of Carpenter’s movies are Westerns with modern twists
Carpenter is a huge fan of Westerns like Rio Bravo, and claims to have gotten into the business to direct them. By the time he broke through, Westerns had all but died out. Instead of traditional “Oaters,” Carpenter made Westerns in disguise like ᴀssault on Precinct 13, They Live and Vampires.
The Escape From... movies follow that same formula. Snake Plissken is the ultimate gunslinger and is tasked with entering a lawless town (AKA post-apocalyptic New York and L.A.) and taking care of business. Snake might be a bad man in a cruel world, but he still adheres to old-fashioned codes of honor.
The “Bangkok Rules” moment is probably the most overt Western nod in either Escape from… movie.
There are Western themes and motifs over both movies, from the Howard Hawksian dialogue or Russell channeling Clint Eastwood to play Snake. The “Bangkok Rules” moment is probably the most overt Western nod in either movie.
Tombstone’s OK Corral Shootout Is Still Russell’s Most Iconic Western Sequence
It’s hard to beat the showdown at the OK Corral in terms of Western shootouts
Fun as Escape from L.A. can be, it pales in comparison to Russell’s modern classic Tombstone. This all-star take on Wyatt Earp’s time in the lawless town is now seen as one of the best Westerns ever, thanks to incredible performances, dialogue and setpieces.
This includes Tombstone’s recreation of the famous OK Corral showdown. Between the Earps and Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) walking down the street to the OK Corral to the slow buildup and inevitable gunfight, it’s a white-knuckle sequence.
Snake Plissken slithering out of trouble in Escape from L.A. is the cooler moment for Russell as an actor. However, when it comes to onscreen shootouts, they don’t come much better than Tombstone’s OK Corral sequence.
