As "No Escape" (2015 release; 103 min.) open, we see a high level meeting taking place (drinks are tested for poison before consumption). It's the Prime Minister (of an unnamed country), and before we know it, the Prime Minister is murdered. The movie then switches to "17 Hours Earlier", as we get to know the Dwyer family as they are en route to Southeast Asia: Jack (played by Owen Wilson), Annie (played by Lake Bell), and their two young daughters Lucy and Beeze. During the flight they also meet Hammond (played by Pierce Brosnan), who has visited the country 15 times and knows the place inside out. Upon arrival at their hotel, Annie comments "Welcome to the fourth world!", as there is no functioning TV, phone or internet. The next morning Jack goes for a walk to by a US newspaper, and inadvertently gets mixed up in a stand-off between demonstrators and police in riot gear. At this point, we are not yet 15 min. into the movie but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: first, this movie has gotten pretty negative reviews from the experts and movie critics. Well, let me tell you, they are way off the mark on this one. If you have seen the movie's trailer, you already know that this is in essence one long escape movie 9very similar in the way that the new Mad Max movie was in essence one long car chase). Once Jack gets mixed up in the stand-off, he and then his family in essence run and hide, and run some more, in a city where there is no sanctuary. It makes for an incredibly tense movie. It must also be mentioned that the movie is at times outright brutal, making for some difficult watching. This is definitely not a movie for the faint of heart. But there are also a number of heart-stopping scenes that play out brilliantly. The hotel rooftop scene, which is so reminiscent of the last days of Saigon 1975, will blow you away. Let me also point out a minus: much of the movie is shot with hand-held cameras and there are tons of close-ups (enforcing the feeling of anxiety), which frankly makes for some exhausting watching. Also, I'm still not 'buying' into Owen Wilson as an action movie guy. On the other hand, Lake Bell, who shone a few years ago in her own movie "In A World...", shines again in this one. Kudos also for Brosnan, who still has the charisma of his James Bond days. When you realize that the production budget of this movie was just $5 million, a pittance in today's Hollywood terms, this movie more than delivers the goods.
"No Escape" opened nationally this past weekend and due to the negative reviews I was hedging whether to go see this, even though I had liked the trailer. Well I gave in to my original curiosity. So glad I did. The early evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was attended okay but not great (it was a week night, though). If you are in the mood for an ultra-tense action drama and you are not faint of heart, you should check this out, be it in the theater, on Amazon Instant Video or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "No Escape" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Couple of comments: first, this movie has gotten pretty negative reviews from the experts and movie critics. Well, let me tell you, they are way off the mark on this one. If you have seen the movie's trailer, you already know that this is in essence one long escape movie 9very similar in the way that the new Mad Max movie was in essence one long car chase). Once Jack gets mixed up in the stand-off, he and then his family in essence run and hide, and run some more, in a city where there is no sanctuary. It makes for an incredibly tense movie. It must also be mentioned that the movie is at times outright brutal, making for some difficult watching. This is definitely not a movie for the faint of heart. But there are also a number of heart-stopping scenes that play out brilliantly. The hotel rooftop scene, which is so reminiscent of the last days of Saigon 1975, will blow you away. Let me also point out a minus: much of the movie is shot with hand-held cameras and there are tons of close-ups (enforcing the feeling of anxiety), which frankly makes for some exhausting watching. Also, I'm still not 'buying' into Owen Wilson as an action movie guy. On the other hand, Lake Bell, who shone a few years ago in her own movie "In A World...", shines again in this one. Kudos also for Brosnan, who still has the charisma of his James Bond days. When you realize that the production budget of this movie was just $5 million, a pittance in today's Hollywood terms, this movie more than delivers the goods.
"No Escape" opened nationally this past weekend and due to the negative reviews I was hedging whether to go see this, even though I had liked the trailer. Well I gave in to my original curiosity. So glad I did. The early evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was attended okay but not great (it was a week night, though). If you are in the mood for an ultra-tense action drama and you are not faint of heart, you should check this out, be it in the theater, on Amazon Instant Video or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "No Escape" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!