No Escape

No rescue, no refuge: this by-line describes what No Escape is about exceptionally well. Starring Owen Wilson, Lake Bell and Pierce Brosnan, this film follows the story of an expatriate family from America trying to build a new life in Thailand, thanks to Jack’s (Owen Wilson) new job in a water infrastructure company. What happens next sees them fighting to stay alive, losing everything, and doing whatever it takes to survive.

From the moment the film starts, there is a level of intensity that sets the tone for the rest of the story. Celebrations set off a political war between rebels and the government. From meeting a rough-looking traveller named Hammond, to a Kenny Rogers-obsessed tuktuk taxi driver nicknamed Kenny, things go from odd, to pleasant, to shocking extremely quickly. When Jack takes a stroll through the city, he finds himself in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Standing between armed police and a band of rebels, everything goes downhill very fast. As political unrest starts to slowly pull the city apart, causing destruction and death wherever it flows, any expat or supporter of the West seems to be at risk.

This is an adrenaline-filled, action-packed look at what is means for life to be hanging on the edge. It illustrates very well what it’s like to do whatever it takes to survive. Hammond (Pierce Brosnan) and his undercover cabbie, Kenny, turn out to be more action heroes than happy travellers when it’s time to get the guns out. The only real criticism? There is an excessive use of slow motion. At first, it does well to highlight the intensity of the trauma; after that, it just becomes a lazy gimmick on the same level as a Michael Bay explosion montage. Overall, this action/thriller is a very exciting ride that shocks and entertains.

Amaliah Sara Marmon-Halm

No Escape is released nationwide on 4^th September 2015.

Watch the trailer for No Escape here: