Movie Review: No Escape

Writer/Director John Erick Dowdle's (As Above, So Below, Quarantine) latest thriller No Escape, which centers around The Dwyers (Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, Sterling Jerins, Claire Geare)-an American family that gets trapped in the middle of a government coup in the unnamed Asian country they've recently moved to-wastes little time getting to the action. Within the first 20 minutes, all hell has broken loose and the Dwyer family is running for their lives trying to escape the armed citizen uprising. Dowdle uses his background as a horror director to craft a film that is remarkably tense and never lets up until the credits roll. However, The film's dedication to creating constantly taut set pieces comes at a price. The main characters spend so much time running for their lives and evading gunfire that Dowdle doesn't even bother trying to develop them and the reason for the citizens rebellion is only mentioned once in passing by a British intelligence agent (Pierce Brosnan, who is as badass as ever) the Dwyer family encounters in their travels and is never brought up again. No Escape is a straightforward, hollow film that is able to get by on its relentless suspense and pulse-pounding thrills.

3/5 Stars