Jennifer Lopez's Kid -- Escape FOILED By Fleet-Footed Bodyguard

It was kinda like a toddler version of "Shawshank Redemption" at LAX yesterday ... with Jennifer Lopez's 3-year-old son making a fearless break for his freedom ... and it ALMOST worked.

J.Lo had just arrived to the airport with a bodyguard and her two kids Emmy and Max ... when Max (dressed in a pimped out track suit) ... decided he had enough of the privileged life, broke away from his mother's grip ... and sprinted toward the terminal at full speed.

It was athletic ... it was inspiring ... it was completely thwarted by a super-quick bodyguard who pounced on the kid like a lion hunting a gazelle.