Lake Bell Owen Wilson Pierce Brosnan
There is no escaping the relentless strain of
one close call after another in No Escape. It starts out with gunfire and a slit
throat, which should tell you something about what is to come. The premise of the film is a good one;
after his business fails, Jack Dwyer (Wilson) takes his family to his new job
in an unspecified Asian country completely unaware of the political unrest
brewing. The natives are wising up
to big companies coming into their country and exploiting them (e.g.,
privatizing their water supply on the stated intention of water purification),
the business of Jack’s new company.
As soon as the Dwyers (Bell as Annie) arrive in the country and register
in a hotel, the gunfire starts, phones don’t work, and snow comes on the
TV. A coup is suddenly taking
place.
But throughout the rest of the film the Dwyers
with their two young girls in tow, are running, running, running, jumping from
one building to another, hiding underneath something to avoid the mobs and
gunshots, fighting (literally) for their lives, and trying to strategize plans
and make their way to safety in a city completely new to them. Not much happens beyond the close
calls. Hammond (Brosnan), whom the
Dwyers meet on the plane when one daughter asks about his scars, is a
mysterious fellow who magnanimously offers them a ride to their hotel, and
suddenly reappears just the nick of time on several occasions.
Owen Wilson is much better known for lighter
roles (except for Behind Enemy Lines),
but steps up to a more complicated role here of being a nice guy, good husband
and father, and then compelled to protect his family at all costs. He and Bell have good chemistry as a
husband and wife, and both actors are exemplary in their performances. Brosnan is perfect for his (by now
expected) role of someone who is ambiguous initially, but ends up being a hero.
My problem with this film is the script. I cannot see the purpose of a movie
that has one close call after another for the entire film. There is little comic relief or even
dialog that reflects the humanity of anyone, except perhaps for a conversation
between Jack and Annie toward the end.
The Dwyers are constantly quarreling with one another about strategy,
and the kids’ roles seem like they’re written by someone who doesn’t know kids
at all. The girls—especially the
older one—end up being rather annoying—which shouldn’t happen in this kind of
film!
How much better it would have been if the
writer/director John Erick Dowdle (written with his brother and producer Drew) had
offered more background on Jack’s new company, on the brewing unrest within the
foreign country, of Jack’s failed business, and the relationship between Jack
and Annie before the action, all of which could have eliminated some of the too
numerous close calls and senseless violence. As it is, the film goes far beyond plausibility. And as an aside, who would go to live
in a foreign country without making any attempt to learn a few basics about the
language?
Moviegoer beware unrelenting violence
of almost every kind. This is an
action film with little else.
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