Review by Jonathan Godfrey for Mr. Will Wong
Thrillers are stories in which the innocent are attacked by the deranged. Theyâre a tale as old as time, one that was first adapted to the screen by names like Alfred Hitchcock and Fritz Lang. Contemporary names include David Cronenberg and John Erick Dowdle.
Dowdle has created a bevy of frightening Films, including: Quarantine, Devil, and As Above, So Below. Suspenseful cinema all of it, and Dowdleâs latest Film evokes equal anxiety. Written with his brother, No Escape is a Movie about a family being hunted by an unruly mob. Owen Wilson & Lake Bell play Jack & Annie Dwyer. With their daughters, Lucy & Beeze, this prototypical nuclear family is one that warms the heart. In an effort to find work, the family moves to Thailand. There Jack hopes to build waterworks for the developing nation, but the locals arenât convinced of his companyâs altruistic motives.
The morning after the Dwyers arrive, a riot erupts and Americans are declared public enemy number one. What follows is chaotic, tense, and unquestionably thrilling. The family fights, flees, and pulls on your heartstrings throughout. The Dwyers guide the audience through a perilous maze, but truth be told their helped along the way.
Pierce Brosnan plays Hammond, an undercover agent who has an itch only the taboo can scratch. Nevertheless, he is charmed by the Dwyers when he first meets them, and his affection for them comes in handy more than once.
Typically billed as a take on⌠Taken, it should be obvious at this point that it is something else entirely. The Dwyers are a loveable lot, and their enemies are born from civil unrest. Though it is extremely violent, it is nevertheless an evening at the Movies an adult audience will enjoy. So with all that said, No Escape is another summer Blockbuster worth seeing.
VVS Films release NO ESCAPE Friday, August 28, 1015.
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