Owen Wilson and Lake Bell will do anything to protect their family, in “No Escape”. Arriving and settling in their new overseas home country, somewhere in Asia, an American family soon finds themselves caught in the middle of a street riot, and they frantically look for a safe escape in an environment where foreigners are being brutally executed. “No Escape” might not be the worst film i have seen in the last month, but it’s being dragged down by a plot that is drawn out paper thin over the course of 96 minutes, as well as scenes that are unintentionally laughable by a family in that situation. When i speak of the latter, i distinctly remember the scene that we have all seen in the trailers where Owen Wilson throws his daughters from one building top to another. Besides the fact that his wife barely made it in the worst possible traction shoes, this scene is hilarious because no parent would ever attempt this, despite a shootout going on behind him. It’s just not feasible to this critic. On top of that, the oldest child easily outweights the other by 30 pounds, and yet it’s no harder to throw her, and her landing is no shorter on the landing building. This is of course just one of the many silly things that plague this movie in tone. Another is the acting of the main cast. Before i mention the weaknesses of this ensemble, i will say that a supporting role by Pierce Brosnan is without a doubt the very best part of this movie. He has about fifteen minutes of total screen time, but he makes the most of every scene, as his dialogue offers the kind of right comedic tones for a movie drenched in the downtrodden. It almost feels like this is the after effect of his role as James Bond, and this is how an older Bond is now spending his days. I really wish i were following him and not this family that struggles to gain even a minute of sympathy from me. Wilson is every bit as terribly cast as the audience worried about who saw the trailer. I don’t have a personal problem with Wilson, but his emotional range just isn’t strong enough to communicate how serious the situation is. His reaction to seeing a riot breakout literally ten feet in front of him is the same as his reaction to a motorcycle that won’t work during an attempted gettaway. Bell isn’t necessarily terrible with her performance, but her character is very unlikeable. I often wondered what made her a good mother, let alone wife to her family. She feels more affected by the situation of moving than anyone, and she just doesn’t have that mutual chemistry with her on-screen counterpart. I am usually pretty hard on child actors, but the two little girls in this movie are terribly written for. I get that children don’t always focus on the most important thing, but their dialogue during scenes where they almost just died is hilarious. It’s like Director Erick Dowdle didn’t trust them enough with anything of big importance, so he just gave them the typical cliche child lines. The good news in all of this is that the movie isn’t necessarily a difficult sit. There is some nicely shot action sequences involving a helicopter and a tank, to involve a couple. We feel bad for everyone EXCEPT the characters we should, mainly because we know where this film is heading. There are no major surprises, and you could probably map out every detail without ever seeing it. “No Escape” isn’t a terrible film, but it’s 90’s-action-style execution combined with cheesy movie feel logic, makes the end result inescapable. This one is a dud.

5/10