No Escape

      Owen Wilson and Lake Bell star as a couple, along with their two young daughters, caught up in a coup in an unnamed Asian county. The film belongs to the genre "run for your life movies" as it's a variation on trying to survive in a very hostile environment. The problem here that there is no real justification for the trouble they are in and the film comes off racist and fairly ridiculous.

       The saving grace is that the film is pretty suspenseful with some truly intense moments as the family find themselves in danger just about right from the start.  As silly and irrational as it seems, you find yourself rooting for everyone to survive. The action sequences are pretty much non-stop with not much thought as to how or why. Ms. Bell and Mr. Wilson are credible as a scared mom and dad doing whatever it takes to protect their kids. Pierce Brosnan plays a mysterious figure in what amounts to a cameo, but he does get at least one big scene.

          The unnamed country is obviously Thailand and I suppose they were so upset at the end result they fought to have any reference removed. The trailer does a great job sucking you into the action but taken as a whole, if you must, wait for cable or Netflix to catch this one.