Are you looking forward to watching prison escape movies? You’ve indeed come to the right place. I have prepared a list of the all-time best escape movies for you. Without further ado, I present the top 10 ultimate escape movies you should watch.
Top 10 Ultimate Escape Movies of All Time
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Runaway Train (1985)
In 1985, this film stood out as the finest escape movie. It follows the story of two escaped prisoners who find refuge on a speeding train journeying through the Alaskan wilderness in a philosophical action thriller. The train hurtles forward as its conductor succumbs to a heart attack, leaving the passengers seemingly fated.
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Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018)
Ray Breslin heads an elite team of security experts specially trained in liberating individuals from the world’s most heavily fortified prisons. When Shu Ren, his trusted operative, is kidnapped and vanishes within the confines of the most intricate prison ever built, Ray assembles an elite team to assist in the rescue.
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The Next Three Days (2010)
The lives of John and Lara Brennan turned tragic when she was found guilty of a murder she insisted she didn’t do. Three years pass, and John, balancing work and the responsibility of raising their son alone, continues his relentless quest to establish her innocence. When Lara’s final appeal faces rejection, pushing her to consider suicide, John faces an agonizing choice: the only remaining option is to plan her escape from prison.
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Escape Room (2019)
Six daring strangers travel to a mysterious building to participate in the escape room, a game where players compete to solve a series of puzzles to win $10,000. What starts as seemingly harmless fun swiftly transforms into a harrowing ordeal as four men and two women realize that each room is an intricate trap, intentionally set as part of a sadistic life-and-death game.
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The Maze Runner (2014)
Dylan O’Brien, a teenager, arrives at a valley in the middle of an enormous labyrinth. Just like the other young people who arrived there before him, he doesn’t remember anything about his life before this. Thomas swiftly integrates into the group and soon showcases a unique perspective that earns him a promotion to the Runner status — those who patrol the always-changing maze to seek an escape route. Along with Kaya Scodelario, the sole female, Thomas tries to convince his cohorts that he knows the way out.
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Con Air (1997)
Nicolas Cage, a recently paroled army ranger, is returning to his wife but must fly home on a prison transport flight dubbed “Jailbird” with some of the worst criminals alive. John Malkovich initiates a violent escape plan mid-flight alongside Ving Rhames and Mykelti Williamson. Secretly partnering with them, U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin, under the guise of Marshall Vince Larkin, attempts to thwart Grissom’s scheme.
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Escape Plan (2013)
Sylvester Stallone, rugged and well-trained, possesses the expertise to infiltrate prisons and successfully escape from them. However, his most recent assignment takes an unexpected turn, resulting in a betrayal that lands him inside an ultra-modern facility housing some of society’s most notorious criminals. Luckily for Ray, he meets Arnold Schwarzenegger, an inmate who secretly helps him hatch a plot to win his freedom. Only sadistic warden Jim Caviezel stands in the way of the two men successfully making it out alive.
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Escape from Pretoria (2020)
The turning point came in 1979 when they successfully orchestrated an audacious escape from Pretoria Prison, defied the odds, and captured the imagination of people worldwide with their bold and ingenious Escape.
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Escape From Alcatraz (1979)
Clint Eastwood, a hardened con with a history of jailbreaks, is distributed to serve the remainder of his life at Alcatraz — America’s most infamously brutal and unavoidable security prison. Morris quickly realizes the prison’s dehumanizing effects and clashes with Patrick McGoohan. Bored stiff with life at Alcatraz, Morris and two convict brothers meticulously arrange the unthinkable: an escape from the island.
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The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Tim Robbins received two consecutive life sentences and a lengthy prison term for the murders of his wife and her lover. Only Andy knows that he is innocent of the crimes. There, he befriends Red (Morgan Freeman), experiences the brutality of prison life, adapts, and helps the warden for all 19 years.
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Conclusion
The Shawshank Redemption claims the top spot on the list, raking in an impressive box office revenue of 73.3 million USD. In the second place, we find Escape from Pretoria, though there are doubts about the story’s accuracy. Questions arise, such as how it was possible to replicate a wooden key within the confines of a prison and why the gate appeared wide open during their escape without anyone noticing. These are just a few of the uncertainties, but the film remains a captivating and enjoyable watch.
