Then Marek's Men pull a surprise attack on the Insider's Village, which is built like a bamboo version of a medieval castle. Chunks of such dialogue have been inserted here and there, without meaning. I imagine that the original novel might have contained some philosophy about prison systems and the men who inhabit them. The special effects in this scene are cheerfully incompenent: We look at the sea, and upon it we see superimposed an animated graphic of a small gray slug-like escape pod that chugs along until it is blown up. It turns out the Insiders have their own plans in that direction, and before long Robbins is watching as a test escape craft tries to sneak away from the island without being detected by satellite security. The prisoners make their own clothing at little looms, and seem on the brink of taking up pottery. Here there are more of the amenities of civilization, including blacksmith shops, communal showers, and a small distillery. After Robbins escapes, however, he stumbles across the Insider Village, which is led by a wise dictator named Father ( Lance Henriksen).

His village seems like a grungy hovel, and his men dress themselves mostly in vines, leaves, computer chips, tattoos, leather, and used auto parts. Robbins fights his way out of the jungle and into the hands of Marek, who, like all tribal leaders in this genre, spends most of his workday presiding over elaborately choreographed fights to the death among his subjects.

Perhaps the original novel, The Penal Colony, by Richard Herley, explains why. Much is made of the need to keep the activities on this island secret from spy satellites. After he clashes with the warden (in a scene which should logically end with his death), he's banished to a jungle island named Absolom, inhabited by two warring clans of prisoners: The Insiders, a civilized group who have organized themselves along the lines of medieval craft guilds, and Marek's Men, savage outlaws led by the embittered Marek ( Stuart Wilson). Robbins is quickly established as a vicious, proud fighting machine.

No escape movie