No Escape

“All that matters is making it out alive”.

It was wonderful to see Owen Wilson (Meet the Parents, The Royal Tenenbaums, Night at the Museum) playing a serious character as opposed to his usual comic roles. Irish Pierce Brosnan (Bond 007) was also interesting to watch, as his character in this 2015 Action/Thriller was completely different from his usual roles. Lake Bell (What happens in Vegas, No Strings Attached) played wife to Owen Wilson and Thai Sahajak Boonthanakit (Only God Forgives, 2 Guns) also joined in on the fun.   All actors were believable in their characters, but I honestly wanted to see more of Brosnan who played “Hammond” as in my opinion he was not only engaging but seemed to be the most resourceful.

Written and directed by the Dowdle brothers, I feel like the story had fantastic potential. Overall I can say it was also a good film but there were some elements that did not make it true to life. Set in South-east Asia, the movie was shot in Thailand, however there were Cambodian actors, bill-boards and Cambodian and Laotian languages that were used. If we want to get our geography in order, and if it the family did actually go to Thailand, then Vietnam wouldn’t be such a close border, one would have to go through Cambodia or Laos before arriving there. Another thing would be if film-makers gave a little more back-story on the countries turmoil as well as the Water Company Wilson’s character worked for. I also found the characters “complaining” about the “4th World Country” and about how much they missed home a bit immature and played out.

Besides those slight hiccups, the film was rated R for strong violence and some language and a short/prevented sexual assault. It was non-stop action and intriguing almost every step of the way. Thrilling and nail-bitingly intense, it makes for a great film on how to survive and protect each other in extreme and unpredictable situations. An unpredictable and gripping ride all the way!