Mironov literally ennobles every shot he's in by projecting a distinct, if not explicit, undercurrent of meaning. He doesn't need to mug or pop his veins. It's enough for him to look at the camera in a particular way.

It turns out that the utterly genteel Mironov can dive, leap over fences, and even throw a few punches without the aid of a stuntman. And then there's his inimitable charisma and the high drama he brings to any character he plays, which make Escape a movie to be recommended less to action lovers ... than to connoisseurs of dramatic talent.

Real as a heart attack, Mironov plays the fugitive surgeon with a fervor that makes you believe one could actually master the technique of coronary shunting through Method acting. ... Playing a hard-boiled, savage man whose job it is to save people, Mironov takes such a high and clear note that you forget to notice the foibles of the plot.

Mironov puts so much heart into playing his hero that your heart goes out to him in return.

The protagonist ... is played by Yevgeny Mironov, which is a recommendation in itself. And to his credit, Yevgeny lives up to our expectations: his performance is marvelous. The difficulty of the role lies in the fact that the character changes throughout the film, undergoing something of a metamorphosis. ... This transformation, this upheaval in the hero's heart, is what Mironov conveys so brilliantly.

Mironov, who has repeatedly proven his ability to play whoever and whatever, delivers an assured, precise, impeccable performance.

The two leads merit special praise. Yevgeny Mironov, who's got nothing to prove in way of talent, feels perfectly at home in his new character's shoes. His desire to avoid typecasting and add an action flick to his list of credits is commendable, not least because his impressive characterization and apt choice of emotions improve the film's overall quality.

This one can't be bailed out even by Yevgeny Mironov's brutally convincing performance, much as it seems like you give him a scalpel and he'll go carving up patients for real.

Playing the lead here is no muscleman with superhuman abilities, but the skinny yet awfully talented Yevgeny Mironov. Not that you don't think at first that his slight frame and decidedly unheroic expression are hardly a match for the part of an outlaw. But the more you watch, the more you realize that Konchalovsky's choice of a star was a stroke of genius.

If you could take away the soapy plot ... and leave Mironov alone with his role, then ... the picture would merit every thinkable award. Because its solid residue is an eternally crazy, eternally brilliant actor who once started playing Dostoyevsky and still cannot stop. ... There is more talent in one line he delivers than in all the actors of the Russian cinema combined.


[Translated by Vlada Chernomordik for the Yevgeny Mironov Official Website]