Escape-athon 2015 Review: Logan's Run

In Logan's Run, it's THE FUTURE! Everyone lives in an idyllic, domed city, and life is good, except for the fact that it ends at 30.  That's right, when you turn 30, you have to participate in "Carousel" in order to, ugh, try and...get reincarnated...or something? The crowd (which is basically everyone in the city it looks like) sits in a giant amphitheater and watches the participants in the middle, who start to float up and then they all get zapped. This probably sounds confusing if you haven't seen the movie, but seeing the movie doesn't help much either. I'm sure if Logan's Run ever gets remade the updated Carousel would be a reality show. The ritual is barbaric and no one ever appears to make it through. Which prompts a lot of these 30-year-olds to run. That's where Logan comes in.

Nakatomi Tumbles via JoBlo

Logan (Michael York) is a Sandman, a sort of policeman that goes after runners.  We see this happen at the beginning of the film. Logan and his fellow Sandman Francis (Richard Jordan) have to leave their precious Carousel ritual to take out a runner, but Sandmen treat running like a sport, so it's all good.

Later, Logan tries to have some hologram sex or something (seriously, she just materializes out of the computer) with Jessica (Jenny Agutter). Logan learns that she's dissatisfied with life in the dome and is considering running. He still just wants to have sex with her, however. Logan is kind of an asshole.

So a lot more happens in this movie.  Logan is given a mission to find runners outside the city, but he sort of catches on that Carousel is a lie and stuff, so he teams up with Jessica. This really pisses off Franics, and he takes off after Logan and Jessica. Our heroes escape the city, but not before encountering a weird, terrifying robot (Roscoe Lee Browne) who's apparently been freezing runners for some reason. They come across Washington, D.C. and find an Old Man (Peter Ustinov). While chillin' with him in the dilapidated Congress chamber, Francis catches up and he and Logan have it out, with Logan eventually killing his old Sandman buddy. Logan and Jessica bring Old Man back to the domed city and they manage to convince everyone that it's all a lie.

I definitely had some questions about this film. Who runs the domed city? The computer? Why is the robot freezing people? Where is Sanctuary? Was it all a lie? Who is the Old Man? Logan's Run is, of course, based on the book by the same name, so I'm sure a lot of my questions are answered there. Another bad thing about the movie, however - its special effects are dated in a lot of spots, as dated as possible, in fact. But it's not a deal-breaker. The tone of the whole movie is good, and Michael York was great. The movie was certainly influential for other filmmakers over the years as well. I can see similarities to Logan's Run in movies as recent as Snowpiercer.

3 Out Of 5 Stars