RepoJack’s review published on Letterboxd:
Escape from L.A. surprisingly aged well. I originally saw this in 1996 and I thought it was horrible.
The cheese factor is masterfully executed. I don't think Carpenter meant to recreate the magic of the original, I think he made this one tongue-in-cheek, laughing all the way to the bank with the studio's money.
That absolutely ridiculous surfing scene with Snake and Peter Fonda -- I'm now of the mind that Carpenter meant for that to look fake.
And the premise for the L.A. setting was almost prescient in predicting our current "Divided States of America:"
A massive earthquake strikes LA, turning it into an island. An [autocratic] President declares Los Angeles to be [corrupt and disloyal]. When he is elected President for life, he also declares that anyone not conforming [to his view] will be stripped of their citizenship and deported to Los Angeles Island. - Wikipedia
The word(s) in [quotes] were added by me but I don't think it changed the story that much at all.
And OMG, that Pam Grier scene!
