Runaway's

Runaway's (during development of Runaway: Fortress Break) is a 2012 American epic action film directed by Don Michael Paul. It is a spin-off of the Runaway franchise, as well as the first part of the Runaway's duology, which stars Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda, Brendan Gleeson, Oliver Platt, Betty White, Meredith Salenger and Mariska Hargitay. Vladimir, a former special forces officer wrongly convicted of a crime he did not commit, is in one of Russia's worst maximum security prisons, known as "The Fortress." Vladimir, knowing that legal avenues of appeal have been exhausted, decides that his only chance for freedom is to escape.
Runaway'‎s was produced by Universal Pictures and Stan Winston Studios (who provided special effects and principal photography in British Columbia, Canada from March to April 2010. The film was distributed by Universal and released theatrically in the United States on February 11, 2012, and in the United Kingdom On February 13, 2012, it received generally negative reviews from critics and grossed $56.9 million worldwide against a budget of $35 million, becoming a box office failure. A sequel, Runaway's: Explore, was released in 2015.
== Plot ==
Vladimir, a former special forces officer wrongly convicted of a crime he did not commit, is in one of Russia's worst maximum security prisons, known as "The Fortress." Vladimir, knowing that legal avenues of appeal have been exhausted, decides that his only chance for freedom is to escape.
He secretly teams up with a group of prisoners, each with unique skills and knowledge needed to escape. Among them are Alex, an electronics expert; Sam, former civil engineer; and Finn, who used to work as a doctor.
Vladimir and his team are collecting maps of the prison and a schedule of guard shifts.
Preparation: They create fake uniforms and tools using materials found in the prison workshop.
Secret Messages: Using encrypted messages, they coordinate with an outside accomplice to help them after their escape.
Red Herring: On the day of their escape, they set the prison library on fire to distract the guards.
Path to Freedom: Using the secret passages Sam found, they make their way to the outside wall, where Alex uses a homemade device to disable the electric fence.
In the chaos caused by the fire, the team overcomes the last obstacles and escapes the prison. An accomplice is waiting for them in an old truck, who quickly takes them away from the “Fortress”.
After escaping, Vladimir and his team are separated to make the search more difficult. Each of them begins a new life in different parts of the country, but they remain in touch, ready to help each other if necessary.
The film ends with shots of Vladimir standing on the seashore, looking at the horizon. He understands that freedom is not only the absence of walls, but also the ability to live by one’s own rules. He vows to find the real culprit and clear his name, but for now, he treasures every moment of freedom.
== Cast ==
* Bill Pullman as Vladimir
* Bridget Fonda as Kelly
* Brendan Gleeson as Alex
* Oliver Platt as Finn
* Betty White as Delores
* Meredith Salenger as Gale
* David Lewis as Sam
* Tim Dixon as Stephen
* Natassia Malthe as Jane
* Mariska Hargitay as Marta
* Jed Rees as Jeff
* Richard Leacock as Steven
== Reception ==
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 27% based on 115 reviews, with an average rating of 4.10/10. According to the site's critics, "The decent acting may be worth the price of admission, but Runaway'‎s is bogged down by bland scripting and an inability to deliver action worthy of the original trilogy." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 24 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one star out of four, calling it "completely misguided from start to finish." He included it in his list of the 10 worst films of the year. Andrew Collins of Empire gave Runaway'‎s four out of five stars, writing that "you can enjoy the film as a simple camping nightmare or as a sly, ironic take on the same thing." Both work great.”