I'm a big Carpenter fanboy, but I don't have a strong affection for either of his Escape movies. The cartoonish sci-fi satire of America is done better by films like Robo-Cop and the Grindhouse tone here isn't as fully realised as Rodriguez and Tarantino's later forays into this territory. It's more creative and entertaining than most of the trash out there, I just prefer the high concepts and horrific atmosphere explored in Carpenter's other films.