Rage unleashed essay samples

“ In Hell” by Hong Kong film director Ringo Lam is an American prison movie that came out in 2003. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Lawrence Taylor. The interesting fact is that the film is already the third but final collaboration between Van Damme and the director. The movie was directed in Sofia, Bulgaria during 36 days, a very short period for shooting. It was released direct-to-video in the United States.
The setting of the movie is rather simple and typical. The action takes place at the present day in Russia, namely the prison in the Russian town Magnitogorsk. The spectator can hear a lot of Russian speech throughout the movie, and Jean-Claude Van Damme looks rather convincing in the role of a foreigner feeling not very comfortable in the unknown country.
“ In Hell” tells the story of Kyle LeBlanc, the American living and working in Russia. He gets into prison after killing his wife’s murderer. In prison, the main character befriends with his inmates, Billy Cooper and 451, and a wheelchair-bound prisoner Malakai. Though Kyle has friends, he also has enemies whom he constantly fights.
One day, Billy Cooper fails his attempt to escape the prison because of the betrayal of Malakai. Billy is now locked in a cell with a prison fighter Valya, and 451 vindicates his honor and sets Malakai on fire. Billy dies in the fight with Valya, but before his death, he manages to whisper to Kyle: “ Don’t let them make you become something you’re not”. This phrase is very significant in the movie because at this point, Kyle is ready to fight till the end. Thanks to 451, Kyle not only fights the guards in the prison garage and successfully escapes, but also gets evidence of all the crimes and murders that happened in the prison during the last 20 years. Kyle can now return to the United Stated and expose the prison’s actions to the government. The spectator gets to know that 3 months later, the prison is shut down.
“ In Hell” is a good qualitative film of its genre. Analyzing the previously watched “ Prison Break”, “ Lock Up” and “ Undisputed”, the spectator appreciates the compliance of the traditions and the requirements of the thriller about prison. The film is shot in dark and gloomy tones, and it constantly keeps the audience in tension.
In general, the majority of the movie is focused on the fights in which the main hero looks very confident and fearless. As for the main character himself, the spectator sees a strong and determined person who always sticks to guns. Kyle is certainly a round and dynamic character who despite the difficult and unbearable circumstances, stands firm on what he believes. The spectator believes Kyle is a loving and easy-going person, because he was faithful to his wife and he managed to make friends with his inmates when in prison.
Billy Cooper, the supporting character, is a 21-year-old prisoner, who is constantly raped and beaten by his inmates. The spectator pities him in his unsuccessful attempts to escape the prison throughout the movie, but especially in his last attempt when he is betrayed by Malakai. When Billy is locked in a cell with Valya, the spectator with a heavy heart watches him being savagely beaten. The kind and sympathetic character dies. Billy is really weak but his personage seems to be still very lightsome and pleasant.
Another supporting character worth special attention is 451 played by Lawrence Taylor. It is curious that 451 is a reference to Ray Bradbury’s novel “ Fahrenheit 451”. The character is a prisoner who knows everything about this prison. 451 is a typical dynamic character because he at first seems to the spectator to be sadist who always kills his inmates, but as the time goes by, he turns out to be faithful and very smart. He is a fair person (the audience sees it when he kills Malakai for his betrayal) and a true friend (he helps selflessly to Kyle).
Ringo Lam is a director who can be easily recognized because of his style. Like all his other movies, “ In Hell” is full of energy and action, though represented mostly by violence and gore (constant fight and several rape scenes) and strong language. Of course, the movie is not recommended for children under 16.
The soundtrack of the movie is not very significant. It is only represented by 4 items which can be described as cold and repulsive.
The movie represents a motivating story of a person who managed to come over the things that can easily break another one into pieces. He didn’t lose his faith and kept carrying on even when it seemed impossible to. Kyle, an honest worker, lost his wife and unjustly got to prison, and there, he had to deal with violence and anger. In spite of all these hardships, he won. His life would never be the same, he lost a lot, but he won the most important things in life – the life itself and staying true to himself. The story can be fairly called life-asserting and inspiring.