No Escape Review

A Grounded SuspenseThriller That Delivers on Suspense but Not the all of the Thrills (3/5)

No Escape is directed by John Erick Dowdle and stars Owen Willson as a hunted father in a rouge country. Dowdle, who is known mostly by his found footage horror flics like As Above So Below and Quarantine delivers a nail bitting experience as he follows the story of Jack Dwyer (Willson) as he must protect his family from revolutionists who want him and every American dead. On the run Jack is forced into tight circumstances and learns that he may have to sacrifice his humanity to protect the ones he loves.

From the thumbnail above you may have gotten the impression that I disliked this movie though I acknowledge its strengths when the truth is that I liked this movie but recognize its flaws. This movie has a lot going for it and most of it contributes into its strengths. The original premise adds weight to the narrative as the setup is not unrealistic in todays world. The idea of sacrificing ones innocence is also a theme in play here and I respect any movie has the balls to explore what that means. This may also be the most suspenseful movie I have seen this year and while many of the scenes have either Jack or his family stuck in a corner and hiding from the revolters, the direction is strong enough to maintain the illusion of impredictability. Props to the director, Dowdle, for attacking a genre outside his comfort zone but still working to his strengths.

On the flipside of that No Escape still has flaws. Owen Willson, while giving it his all, is a little hard to buy as Jack Dwyer at times considering he plays up his everyman persona in the beginning and it doesn't all mesh with the changes his character is put through towards the end. The child acting is also passible at best and the whole film wraps up a little to clean. I also found it hard to sympathize with the revolters as the film progressed; when the action begins the riots and activist are a clear and aggressive plot device for Jack and his family to get moving. They also add dramatic weight as the film goes on because its explained why they are mad at Americans and why they are so violent, however in contrast to how they act, and not just to the Americans but their own people,  it becomes harder and harder to distinguish the revolutions from animals. Some of the acts they commit or put Jacks family through is just downright heinous.

Then finally comes the execution of the suspense. A good suspense movie know when to tease the audience and build the tension and then when to climax and let it release. A great example of this off the top of my head can be from the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie when Elizabeth Swan is hiding from the pirates who invaded her house. The pirates tease her slowly as the tension builds to whether or not she will be found and when she is revealed to the their is a quick release of that tension, thats part of how a suspense can be thrilling. Now in No Escape whenever there was a hiding scene or moment of tension the building to that big climax was strong as I feared for the family and whether or not they would be discovered except when the scene was finished the plot would push immediately into the next scenario of them hiding or moving around undiscovered. Most of the scenes that lead into a set piece weren't really set up nor did they take advantage of that building tension and the result for me was a great sense of gripping my seat but not a lot of heart pounding intensity. Plenty of suspense but not as much thrills. 

In the end, this movie set out what it was meant to do and did it well. The suspense doesn't always have the biggest payoff but you will get what you paid for. No Escape is defiantly the best of the weekend a quite possibly the best we may have for a while. Oh and did I mention Pierce Brosnan's in this, he was pretty sharp too!