Plissken’s nihilistic attitude is just as endearing, but his character arc builds upon the iconic ending of the first film where he destroyed the message to the President after witnessing his disregard for those who sacrificed themselves saving him. Cliff Robertson’s President is a chilling antagonist of the Reagan era who forcefully punishes those who don’t meet the standards of his “Moral America.” The sequel is more heavily critical of religious fanaticism, and the notion of a theocratic state makes for a different type of threat.
Carpenter wrote the first film in reaction to the Watergate scandal and personified anxieties of a fractured federal government, resulting in a gritty sense of paranoia. This is the only sequel to a Carpenter film helmed by the man himself, and it’s clear why he wanted to revisit the post-apocalyptic setting given the shifting political climate in the fifteen years since Escape From New York. is far from a hastily thrown together cash grab. Understandably, there’s hesitation towards a follow-up to such an influential original, but Escape From L.A. Snake Plissken’s second adventure earned only half of its production budget back, and lukewarm reviews cited the film’s significant quality dip from its predecessor.
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