No Escape

No Escape

Starring Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Sterling Jerins

Directed by John Erick Dowdle

The Story:
Jack Dwyer (Owen Wilson), a water company executive, relocates his family - wife Annie (Lake Bell), and young daughters Lucy (Sterling Jerins) and Beeze (Claire Geare) - to southeast Asia from Texas to work at a water plant that will supply clean drinking water to the country. 

Almost as soon as they arrive, a coup arises, and the rebellion army goes in search of foreigners, dead set on killing them all.  Holed up at their hotel, Jack and Annie have to resort to drastic measures to save themselves and their family in a country where there seemingly is no escape.

The Synopsis:
In 2001, Owen Wilson surprised audiences by starring in "Behind Enemy Lines," where he ditched his comedic persona and took on a heavily action-led role.  As the years went by, he returned to his true art form, and never starred in another purely action film again.  Then, in 2015, he starred in "No Escape," a taunt political thriller where he once again releases his inner action hero as he sets out to protect his family from a roving band of unrelenting murderers.  The comedy is sparse as each moment is a tense moment filled with fear and hopelessness, as turn after turn they come into conflict.

The previews seem to say that "No Escape" is a non-stop action ride, but it's really not.  It's a lot better than that, as there's several moments in the film where the family is hiding, and you see the bad guys coming and it causes you to feel nervous for them, as at any moment they could be found out and mercilessly killed.  To this end, director John Erick Dowdle delivers the goods, as you genuinely feel for the family and hope that, somehow, they make it out alive.

However, there are some bugs with the story, and that's mainly in the family themselves.  Wilson does a great job as a father-turned-hero who all of a sudden doesn't become a James Bond or Macgyver, but rather as an everyman who just wants his family protected.  To that end, he makes some mistakes along the way, which adds to the tension, since you're not expecting him to go all Arnold on the baddies.

The main issue lies with the rest of his family.  Lake Bell doesn't have much to work with here, as she serves as the ever-doting mother who will stop at nothing to protect her cubs, but we're not given any depth to her character other than that.  How does she feel relocating her family halfway around the world?  Is there tension in the marriage?  There's not much answered there, as she's spent most of the movie hiding the children.

Speaking of the children, why is it most films with kids make them out to be the most terrible things in the world?  Both of Jack's children are bratty, selfish children who pretty much hinder their escape at almost every turn.  While they're running down the hotel corridors from gun-wielding maniacs, the youngest child has a tempter-tantrum because Jack left her stuffed animal behind.  As he's trying to save his family, the elder daughter downright refuses to go along with the plan, and then almost takes her father down with her when he forces her to save her own life.  Maybe it's just my own prejudice against having young children, but I found them both to be completely insufferable.

There isn't much story given, except for the beginning of the film when the Prime Minister of the unnamed Asian country is assassinated, which somehow leads to the rebellion.  However, the main reason for the rebellion isn't really stated, although there are cues throughout the film.  This adds to the senselessness of the film, as most rebellions don't spring up overnight with no warning, so it makes the whole story somewhat unbelievable.  There had to be rumblings of a coup for a while, and no American company in their right minds would send a young family to live in the middle of it.

The best scene in the film is one that's showed a little in the preview, when Jack throws his children off the roof to another roof in order to maintain their safety.  I thought that it wouldn't have a strong impact since I saw it in the previews, but seeing it in connection with the story it's downright terrifying, unnerving and one of those scenes that will stick with me for a long time to come, and might go down as one of the best sequences in any modern action movie.  That scene alone was well worth the price of admission, and everything that happened before and after was just gravy.

Still, "No Escape" did what it wanted to.  It made you feel for the family at the heart of the story, root for their success, and mourn with them as every glimmer of hope gets dashed.  You really feel like they might not escape the living hell they found themselves in, and that's the main crux of the film. 

The Summary:
While it's not action-packed from start to finish, "No Escape" is the harrowing tale of a family's fight for survival against insurmountable odds, and still manages to keep you on the edge of your seat.

The Score: A-