NO ESCAPE (From allegations of racism at least)
It is well known that the Asian film market is one of the most lucrative in the world ,filmmakers have therefore understandably been hesitant to antagonize certain governments in that part of the world (rhymes with angina ) . Given that studios have even been willing in the past to censor their own movies (future article planned) the existence of a film like no escape in which western characters flee from hordes of screaming Asian mobs somewhat surprising to say the least.
The film takes place in a non-descript country and sees
Jack (Owen Wilson) and Annie Dwyer (Lake
Bell) moving to Asia with their two children
only to find their new home fall into chaos and revolution and Jack
(thanks to his new employers being a focus of the mobs rage ) becoming a prime
target. Much of the film features very
effective tense scenes as the family struggles to “stay ten steps ahead" of the
violence whilst being aided by the mysterious Hammond (Pierce Brosnan). The lead actors give good performances and
child actors Sterling Jerins and Claire Geare
do well with such adult content. Indeed a good chunk of the film
features quick bursts of shocking violence ,one stand out example involves what
we think is a firing squad but turns out to be far more unpleasant.
Much of the problem with No escape comes from its deliberate
vagueness ,not only about the country the action takes place in but also about
what the revolution is about (beyond vague hint) This has the effect of causing critics to accuse the film of
xenophobia with our plucky white heroes escaping the evil foreign hordes. Now I
do not think for a moment that was the intent of the filmmakers, I do however
think it is a side effect of a script that lacks depth. The only natives we see
(bar one friend of Hammond’s) are either gun totting rebels or cannon fodder to
be pushed aside by the main characters on their way to safety.
FINAL VERDICT 5/10 No escape grips and entertains but with a
more fleshed out script it could have been much more.
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