Lockout is a testo-filled, high body count sci-fi action thriller that borrows a bit from Escape from New York. Only this time, instead of Snake Pliskin, it’s “Snow” (Guy Pearce) as a falsely convicted criminal.

The initially reluctant Snow eventually comes to the rescue of the president’s daughter Emilie Warnock (Maggie Grace) held captive in a space prison overtaken by crazed inmates. The plot: Rescue Emilie and our hero earns a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. The film presents some interesting twists and Grace and Pearce deliver admirable performances, taking the bloodbath genre up a notch toward the cerebral. Shot in a Serbian sound stage, Lockout offers both leads the kind of snappy, wisecracking dialog reminiscent of 90’s action flicks.

I asked Grace, what attracted her to role and she replied, “Just the one-liners and the wry humor.” Asked if she preferred doing action roles over dramatic and she answered, “Dramatic. I tend to be more of a Jane Austen, Jane Eyre kind of girl, the way I was brought up. I think my family’s getting a kick out of my foray into action movies. I started out when I was 13-14, when I decided to give acting a go. It was like, I’ll do Shakespeare and that sort of thing. And I think my parents thought I would grow up doing a traveling Shakespeare troupe or something like that, barely making my rent. So here I am, going, ‘Hey, mom, I’m on a trapepeze jumping off a building in Paris.”

Lockout premieres in theaters nationwide April 13.