Notes

MOVIE REVIEWS - Escape Plan Reviews
R 2013 ‧ Drama/Mystery ‧ 1h 56m
Tough and chiseled Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) knows how to infiltrate a prison -- and bust out of one. His latest job leads to a double-cross, leaving him stuck in a high-tech facility with the worst that society has to offer. Luckily for Ray, he meets Emil Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger), an inmate who secretly helps him hatch a plot to win his freedom. Only sadistic warden Hobbes (Jim Caviezel) stands in the way of the two men successfully making it out alive.
Release date: October 18, 2013 (USA)
Director: Mikael Håfström
Box office: 137.3 million USD
Film series: Escape Plan
Budget: 54 million USD
Showing all 33 items
Jump to: Spoilers (9)
Director Mikael Håfström said that 90% of the film was shot inside an empty facility in New Orleans which had previously been used by NASA to construct space shuttles.
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The idea of a movie co-starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger had been discussed between the two men for many years, as far back as the mid-1980s. Different scripts had been pitched or written, but Schwarzenegger said his and Stallone's schedules were not able to match up. Schwarzenegger's exit as governor and his cameo appearance in Stallone's The Expendables (2010) prompted the two of them to revisit the idea of working together in both this movie and The Expendables 2 (2012).
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The passage that Rottmayer quotes in German is the Parable of the Madman from "The Gay Science" by Friedrich Nietzsche, making this film one of less than a handful of films in which Arnold Schwarzenegger is heard speaking in his native language.
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During filming on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, a military convention caused streams of uniformed soldiers and Marines to accidentally stumble onto the set. When the crew began to clear the set for the shoot, Sylvester Stallone made a point to stop and pose for pictures with multiple men and women in uniform.
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(At around 63 mins) Abigail is seen at Breslin's desk. On this desk are a few puzzle-like models, one of which appears to depict the structure of the infamous "super-chip" from Cyberdyne Systems as shown in the Terminator movies, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger starred.
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The German dubbing studio decided to recast the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger with Ralph Schicha (who used a slight Austrian accent which adds a little extra fun for German audiences (since Danneberg normally dubs Schwarzenegger in Standard German)). The reason for this was that Thomas Danneberg, who normally dubs Schwarzenegger, is also the German dubbing voice of Sylvester Stallone. It was feared that the same voice for two actors might confuse audiences. However, some fans did not like the decision and pleaded for a new dubbing which was ultimately denied by the German licensee Concorde.
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Hobbes working on butterflies is a reference to the film Papillon (1973) in which a convict repeatedly tries to escape Devil's Island. Papillon is French for butterfly.
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Miles Chapman's original script had called for the electronic keypad to be on the inside of the solitary cell at the Bendwater prison in Colorado. While storyboarding the film's opening sequence, the filmmakers realized that this was a mistake and the keypad was relocated to the outside of the cell.
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Screenwriter Jason Keller is credited under the pseudonym of Arnell Jesko, an anagram of his own name.
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Bruce Willis was once attached to star in this film with Antoine Fuqua directing.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger calls Jim Caviezel's character "The Devil," ironic (and perhaps deliberate) since Caviezel famously played Jesus Christ in The Passion.
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The character Ray Breslin (Stallone) is presented as sort of quagmire when it comes to his profession. In the film he is described as a former criminal prosecutor turned prison security expert. However he displays knowledge and skills equivalent to that of a top structural engineer. He is also a businessman: the part owner of Breslin-Clark Security firm.
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Sylvester Stallone and 50 Cent share a birthday, 6th of July.
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The message Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) is seen "tapping" out is, "Riot C block ramp during transfer riot C block".
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The bulk of the page of the Bible that Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) is seen burning at the beginning of the film says, "6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.". This is Jeremiah 15:6 of the King James Bible.
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Escape Plan did not receive a theatrical release in Australia, instead Australian distributors Hopscotch Films decided to release the film directly to DVD and Blu-Ray.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger was the original choice for John Brennick in the futuristic prison flick Fortress (1992), but Schwarzenegger turned the role down and the role was given to Christopher Lambert. "Fortress" was considered to be a futuristic remake of the prison flick Lock Up (1989) starring Sylvester Stallone.
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When Faran Tahir's character (Javed) says "God is Great" Jim Caviezel character (Hobbes) replies with "Eh, whatever". This is a possible reference to Jim Caviezel's role as "Jesus Christ" in The Passion of the Christ (2004).
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The photograph hanging behind Lester Clark in his office shows the towers of the headquarter of Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt/Main in Germany.
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The only movie where, in a sense, and in one scene, Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't speak with an accent... since he speaks in his native tongue.
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Jim Caviezel previously appeared in The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), where a large part of the plot involved planning an escape from a seemingly inescapable prison.
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Hobbes (Jim Caviezel) looks at the butterfly on his desk through a magnifying glass, much like he does the inmates via the cameras. The other one is "caged" much like the inmates are as well.
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50 Cent was offered the role of Caesar in The Expendables (2010), which Stallone directed and starred in. He turned it down to focus on his music career.
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In Stallone's previous film, Bullet to the Head (2012), his partner comments that there was not enough evidence to court martial him for selling C4 on the black market, as is on Stallone's police file. In "Escape Plan", his characters' alias in the prison is there for manufacturing bombs used in acts of terrorism.
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Spoilers
The trivia items below may give away important plot points.
While filming Arnold Schwarzenegger's scenes in the helicopter, director Mikael Håfström asked writer Miles Chapman to add a line for Rottmayer after the explosion on the ship. Chapman realized that earlier in the film Warden Hobbes had said "Have a lovely day, Mr. Rottmayer." Chapman then added the line "Have a lovely day, asshole" for Rottmayer. Chapman said he has received requests from fans to come up with a t-shirt with the line "Have a lovely day, asshole" on it.
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Sylvester Stallone's last day on set was spent filming the scene in which his character Ray Breslin surfaces in the ocean and signals to the helicopter. Stallone had pulled his right bicep muscle the previous day and was unable to use his right arm. This is why he waves to the helicopter and starts to climb the rope ladder with his left arm.
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The cargo ship converted to a prison in this movie is Rican, IMO number 7621932. This can be seen in the scenes from the engine room towards the end of the movie. In the movie they have actually doubled the beam of the ship, making two rows of cargo holds and when widening the superstructure, they have left the wheelhouse off center and original size. The ship was scrapped after the filming in Alang, India.
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The message Dr. Kyrie (Sam Neill) is seen sending out is, "I need you in 24 hrs 30 degrees 22(n), 23 degrees 6(w) 5:00 pm sharp tomorrow BBQ and pool party. Don't forget to tell the kids bring all the toys! - Rottmayer".
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The prison in this film is very similar to Erewhon Prison in Face/Off (1997), in which Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were considered to play arch enemies Sean Archer and Castor Troy before John Travolta and Nicolas Cage got the parts.
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After Abigail (Amy Ryan) and Hush (50 Cent) decoded the message that Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) sent out from Bendwater Federal Penitentiary toward the beginning of the film, it said, "SEPTEMBER NINE FIRE FRONT LOT 4 PM".
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The prison alarm that you hear blaring as Breslin and Rottmayer make their escape is the same alarm that was also heard in the John Carpenter's 1982 horror sci-fi film The Thing (1982).
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Steven E. de Souza stated the Commando 2 script for Arnold Schwarzenegger was a lot like this film, (and not Die Hard (1988)) even though it was set in a building with security and bad guys, etc. Coincidentally, Arnold and Sly were considered to play John McClane in Die Hard (1988), but they turned it down and it went to their pal, Planet Hollywood co-founder and The Expendables (2010) co-star Bruce Willis, who was considered for Stallone's role in this film.
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Just like in First Blood (1982), there is a scene where Stallone and his guard are going to the cell. In both movies the door is at their left side, and the keypad is also at the left, but in First Blood, it is mounted much higher. A lot of the same body language is used by Stallone in both movies when he is pushed around by the guard.
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Showing all 14 items
Jump to: Audio/visual unsynchronised (1) | Character error (2) | Continuity (4) | Factual errors (4) | Plot holes (1) | Spoilers (2)
Audio/visual unsynchronised
Just minutes into the picture, Breslin finishes a phone call: he hangs up, and is just exiting the booth when we hear the distinct sound of a coin hitting the coin return slot and NOT falling into the phone company coin bin, as it would if the person had made a successful outgoing call.
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Character error
To locate their position, they are pointing the sextant to the polar star. When they got the partial result "latitude: 30 degrees", they are still wondering if it is the northern or the southern hemisphere. However, since you cannot see the polar star from the southern hemisphere, it is quite obvious on which hemisphere they are.
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Javed is supposedly Moroccan, yet he speaks fluent Urdu (Pakistani) when he says, "Ye Jahannum kay darwazay hain," (These are the gates of Hell) during a scene with Breslin.
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Continuity
As Ray is hanging from a rope ladder, in close up, one of the ropes is torn by a bullet. In the following wide shot, the ladder is fixed.
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When the doctor is stitching up Breslan's leg, there are xrays of the lumbar spine hanging in the view box. The lateral view is hung upside down.
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When Javed is left with two pistols during the escape, one of them is clearly out of ammunition as the breach stays open, yet without reloading them he keeps firing from both pistols.
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When the doctor tells the guards to bring him Porto he's says he's in cell block "E" but Breslin (Portos), is clearly wearing his shirts with cell Block "A" printed on the back.
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Factual errors
Javed uses a sextant from an enclosure that is open to the sky but has walls on all four sides. Using a sextant is contingent on being able to see not just the sky but also the horizon which Javed can not do from his position, therefore this would not have worked.
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Urban legend presented as fact: Breslin deduces which hemisphere they're in based on which direction the drains flow. This effect, known as Coriolis force, is quoted by Breslin as causing moving objects on the surface of the Earth to be deflected in a counter-clockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere and in a clockwise rotation in the Southern Hemisphere. It is not effective on water drainage, so it cannot be used to scientifically and surely determine in which hemisphere one is.
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When Rottmayer first meets Breslin, Breslin introduces himself as his cover name, Anthony Portos. Rottmayer says, "The fourth Musketeer." Porthos (different spelling) was actually one of the 3 Musketeers in Alexandre Dumas' famous novel. D'Artagnan was the 4th musketeer.
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Caitriona Balfe is listed as "Jessica MILLER" in the credits, but her character's name is actually "Jessica MAYER" in the movie.
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Plot holes
Despite the location being chosen for calm seas, it is impossible to guarantee a continuous calm. At some time the rocking of the ship will give away the fact that they are not on land.
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Spoilers

The goof item below may give away important plot points.
Continuity
Towards the end, when Ray hangs from the ladder after the explosion, the helicopter takes off to the right. On the water there are still ripples from the downdraft from the helicopter even though it has flown away.
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When the chopper arrives to pick up Breslin and Rottmayer, the ammo belt in the machine gun keeps disappearing/reappearing. When the chopper first arrives, you see the shiny brass of the cartridges, then when Rottmayer grabs it to shoot the guards, the brass disappears even though he is clearly "firing." When he hops back into the chopper and replaces it on the mount, the brass reappears. From there, it makes one more disappearance as Rottmayer drops the gun to Breslin before coming back for the rest of the scene.
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Showing all 22 items
Dr. Kyrie: Doctors are men, who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, for men, of whom they know nothing at all.
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Swan Rottmayer: [from trailer] Heh heh. You hit like a vegetarian!
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Swan Rottmayer: [after detonating the prison, and Hobbes on fire] Have a lovely day... asshole!
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Swan Rottmayer: You don't look that smart!
Breslin: You don't either!
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Swan Rottmayer: Portos, don't get killed.
Breslin: If you say so.
Swan Rottmayer: Last time they killed a guy in there, they let his body rot for three days. Oh, and they cancelled the prison dance.
Breslin: Wouldn't wanna fuck up the prom.
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Breslin: This can go two ways. You let me go, and I'll pretend this never happened. If you don't, I'll burn this fucking place to the ground on my way out.
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Swan Rottmayer: If I don't get out, I will kill you.
Breslin: Fair enough.
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Swan Rottmayer: Sometimes favors hurt.
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Swan Rottmayer: Your mother was my favorite whore in Marrakech. Man, she knew how to polish a helmet!
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[last lines]
Breslin: Why don't you and me have a very special dinner?
Abigail: I'll cook.
Breslin: Haven't I suffered enough?
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Hobbes: You've been here six months now, Mr. Rottmayer. So you know how this works. Ten seconds. Where's Victor Manheim?
Swan Rottmayer: You know to many people, he is a Hero.
Hobbes: Nine seconds.
Swan Rottmayer: Do you have a pencil and a piece of paper?
Hobbes: Eight seconds!
Swan Rottmayer: I could draw you a map!
Hobbes: [Narrows eyes] Of What?
Swan Rottmayer: Of where you could Find him...
Hobbes: [Opens drawer, takes out, and slams the requested things on the table]
Swan Rottmayer: You know, when I was a kid, I always wanted to be an Artist.
Hobbes: Oh my God, you are pushing it...
Swan Rottmayer: Problem was, I had no talent.
Hobbes: [laughs quietly] Six seconds.
Swan Rottmayer: I tried, and I tried, and I tried...
Hobbes: Five.
Swan Rottmayer: Do you have dreams?
Hobbes: Four!
Swan Rottmayer: Or did you always want to be...
[Gestures]
Swan Rottmayer: This?
Hobbes: [Pointing towards door] TWO, ONE!
Swan Rottmayer: Done.
Hobbes: [Freezes]
Swan Rottmayer: [Slides paper over. Points] There.
Hobbes: [Looks furious]
Swan Rottmayer: I told you. No talent.
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Breslin: [Before detonating the prison] Boom!
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Breslin: You're Manheim.
Breslin: Didn't see that coming.
Swan Rottmayer: You should've.
Breslin: Yeah.
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Breslin: And you became my best friend.
Swan Rottmayer: You are not user-friendly.
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Breslin: What am I, disoriented, is that it?
Hobbes: Yes, that must be it...
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Hobbes: [after Rottmayer insults him repeatedly in German] Here's what you should know: I don't care. Sooner or later, you will Tell me what I want to know. It is inevitable. Like dying.
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Hush: Sleep tight, motherfucker.
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Hobbes: No one gets off this ship! Shoot to kill.
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Abigail: She's from the Agency.
Jessica Miller: The Central Intelligence Agency.
Hush: You're a spy?
Jessica Miller: Worse, I'm a lawyer.
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Hobbes: No-one in. No-one out. Search every inch of this - - ing room!
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Breslin: [taking a punch] That's a favor?
Swan Rottmayer: Sometimes favors hurt.
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Breslin: Why don't you and me have a very special dinner.
Abigail: I'll cook.
Breslin: Haven't I suffered enough?
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Showing all 21 items
Jump to: Followed by (2) | References (2) | Referenced in (7) | Featured in (9) | Spoofed in (1)
Followed by
Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018)
Escape Plan: The Extractors (2019)
References
THX 1138 (1971)
The guards' masks are a reference to the police androids in George Lucas' THX 1138. Also, in the scene where Drake tries to break Bresslin, he's tapping Breslin's cell wall with his baton in exactly the same rhythm as the police android beating up a citizen in one of the most famous scenes of THX 1138.
Papillon (1973)
Hobbes collects butterflies and Breslin is an allegory for Papillon, with Rottmayer an allegory for Dega and the prison an allegory for Devil's Island.
Referenced in
Late Show with David Letterman: Episode #20.76 (2013) (TV Episode)
Mentioned by Sylvester Stallone (as The Tomb).
Late Show with David Letterman: Sylvester Stallone/Anna Faris/Deltron 3030 (2013) (TV Episode)
Mentioned during Sylvester Stallone's interview.
Midnight Screenings: Escape Plan/Carrie (2013) (TV Episode)
movie is reviewed
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #22.36 (2013) (TV Episode)
referring to a headline about blueprints for a prison being stolen, Jay asks if that was the plot of the Stallone-Schwarzenegger movie
Maximum Security: The Real Life Tomb (2014) (Video)
Interviews
The Third Annual 'On Cinema' Oscar Special (2015) (Video)
Footage shown; discussed by Tim and Gregg.
Sylvester Stallone Movie Reviews: Top 10 Favorite & Least Favorite Stallone Films (2017) (TV Episode)
Matt mentions this movie.
Featured in
Late Show with David Letterman: Sylvester Stallone/Anna Faris/Deltron 3030 (2013) (TV Episode)
A clip is shown.
Executing the Plan: The Making of 'Escape Plan' (2014) (Video)
interviews, behind the scenes footage and scenes from the film
Escape Plan: Clash of the Titans (2014) (Video)
interviews, behind the scenes footage and scenes from the film
WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Prisons (2015) (TV Episode)
The Tomb is #2.
WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Prison Fights (2015) (TV Episode)
Relax; It's Pretend is #5.
WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Convicts (2015) (TV Episode)
Emil Rottmayer / Victor Mannheim gets an honorable mention.
WatchMojo: Top 10 Sylvester Stallone Performances (2015) (TV Episode)
Ray Breslin is #7.
WatchMojo: Top 10 Best Arnold Schwarzenegger Movies (2017) (TV Episode)
Escape Plan gets an honorable mention.
Honest Trailers: Face/Off (2017) (TV Episode)
Clip is shown
Spoofed in
The Late Late Show with James Corden: Arnold Schwarzenegger/Whitney Cummings/Gavin James (2015) (TV Episode)
Arnold Schwarzenegger acts out his film career
Soundtrack Credits
Don't Sleep
Written by Ali Dee (as Ali Theodore) and Lordikim (as Lordkim Allah)
Performed by Lordikim
Courtesy of Deetown/Position Music
Show Me What You Got
Written by Willie Clarke
Performed by Frank Williams & The Rocketeers
Courtesy of The Numero Group
By Arrangement with Bank Robber Music
Head Held High
Written and Performed by Alex Heffes
Credited as performed by De Wolfe Music
Courtesy of De Wolfe Music
Piano Sonata No. 2
Arranged and Performed by Joseph Bonn
Drum Circle 2
Written and Performed by Alex Heffes
By arrangement with Creative Evolution Music

Escape Plan 2: Hades
2018

Escape Plan: The Extractors
2019

Lock Up
1989

Get the Gringo
2012

Fire with Fire
2012

The Expendables
2010

The Prince
2014

Bullet to the Head
2012

Backtrace
2018

Den of Thieves
2018

Brawl in Cell Block 99
2017

The Specialist
1994

Collateral Damage
2002

The Next Three Days
2010

The Great Escape
1963

Rambo
2008

The Last Stand
2013

The Expendables 3
2014

Demolition Man
1993

First Blood
1982

The Expendables 2
2012

The Shawshank Redemption
1994

Rocky
1976

Grudge Match
2013

Cobra
1986

Cliffhanger
1993

The Condemned
2007

Escape from Alcatraz
1979

Eraser
1996

Rambo: First Blood Part II
1985