Film Review: Probable Events is the Situation in Tense ‘No Escape’

Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 26, 2015 - 4:15pm

CHICAGO – In a very unstable world, and in a sense that these problems are international, we all can be stuck in war at any time – there is no way to get away from it. “No Escape” takes this notion to the extreme, with an American family – led by Owen Wilson – caught in a war zone.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

How the situation relates to us all is the film’s strength, with more tense moments than the most improbable action film. The circumstance of foreign business intervention in a fictional Asian country’s water supply spurs the population to rise up against the prime minister and foreigners, which includes a mid level engineer portrayed by Wilson. It includes Pierce Brosnan taking a role as a mysterious British operative – sound familiar? – and the veteran actor makes the most of it with a rollicking and almost mocking persona. The pulse pounding action never lets up, and reminds us that forces within our soul, especially when protecting children and loved ones, can bring out survival instincts long buried in modern life. What would you do if your back was against the proverbial wall?

Jack (Owen Wilson) is a failed businessman getting a second chance to manage a water purification project in a far off Asian country for an American corporation. He brings his wife Annie (Lake Bell) and children (Sterling Jerins and Claire Geare). When unusual events start happening in their luxury hotel, it turns out they are in the middle of a coup d’etat against the government, and the country falls into a street war.

Using the philosophy of “ten steps ahead,” the family uses their wit and guile to avoid being killed. They are aided by a British expatriate named Hammond (Pierce Brosnan), who they met on the plane, and he becomes very important to them. As the forces of the conflict close around them, there are many things that the family thought they would never do, nor ever experience.

”No Escape” opens everywhere on August 26th. Featuring Owen Wilson, Pierce Brosnan, Lake Bell, Shajak Boonthanakit, Sterling Jerinns and Claire Geare. Written by John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle. Directed by John Erick Dowdle. Rated “R”