THE FILM:

The opening scene in No Escape sets a pulpy high the film struggles to match. The prime minister of an unnamed Asian country is assassinated by a group of rebels. The prime minister's second-in-command discovers his body swarmed by said rebels. The man grabs a knife and slashes his own throat, spewing blood on a white sheet. Cut to the title card. "NO ESCAPE." The marketing of this film was terrible. The trailers teased some sort of disaster film with guns instead of playing up the B-movie thrills unexpectedly led by Owen Wilson and Lake Bell. A nice American family is trapped amid this burgeoning coup and fights to escape their unyielding attackers. Some folks were not pleased with the film's thinly veiled references to the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, and No Escape doesn't exactly provide a nuanced, respectful look at Asian politics and culture. That's not what director John Erick Dowdle was shooting for, of course, and this $5-million thrill ride would be the perfect modern B-movie but for its decision to back off the accelerator in the final act.

After that opening, No Escape moves backward in time 17 hours and sees Jack and Annie Dwyer (Wilson and Bell) flying with their girls Lucy and Beeze (Sterling Jerins and Claire Geare) to their new home in Southeast Asia. An American company that set up shop to mine the country's water resources hired Jack, and Annie is not thrilled about their new living arrangement. The couple's driver fails to meet them at the airport, but they are saved by fellow passenger Hammond (Pierce Brosnan), an ex-pat living in the city. The signs of trouble are immediately apparent to anyone looking: The hotel's phone and television do not work, and no one from Jack's company attempts to reach him. The next morning, Jack is cornered in the market when a group of rebels begins fighting the local police. He barely makes it back to the hotel as other Americans are executed on the front steps.

There's nothing like a good ole emotionless, unreasoning enemy to get the blood flowing. The rebels are just that; an ebbing and flowing force with hazy leadership that will absolutely put a bullet in the heads of the Dwyer family. The opening hour is an intense chase as the family reconvenes in their room before racing to the rooftop. Things slow down a bit when the crowd dies down, but No Escape puts its protagonists through hell. The young female leads are quite believable, and I recognize that the young children would compound these problems. Jack and Claire do their best to remain patient and reassure the girls, but at one point Jack heaves his daughter off a rooftop. She'll thank him later. That the opening half of No Escape is so intense is both its greatest asset and downfall. The film simply cannot keep the pacing and tension at the same level during the less-interesting second hour.

Dowdle directs from a script by his brother, Drew Dowdle, and co-writers Michael Wagner and David Lancaster. John Erick Dowdle directed the respectable American remake of Quarantine, as well as last year's underwhelming As Above, So Below. I am amazed this film was shot for only $5 million, as the effects, sets and shot quality are impressive throughout. This is a refreshingly R-rated actioner, and No Escape has plenty of hacking and slashing to satisfy its intended audience. Wilson is not typical action leading-man material, but he does a nice job here as an Average Joe father forced to nut up and save his family. Bell plays along well, too, as do the young Jerins and Geare.

I thought for awhile that No Escape might actually do the unthinkable and take this family over the edge into death-and-torture territory. For obvious reasons, No Escape shies away from this in its second half, where Brosnan's Hammond rejoins the group as a repeat savior. I knew the corporations-are-bad speech was coming, but I will ignore the film's attempt to humanize the attackers by describing them as family oriented freedom fighters trying to win back their country. No Escape pusses out a bit in the end, sure, but it's an almost-excellent B-movie, and that alone makes it worth watching.

THE BLU-RAY:

PICTURE:

The 1.85:1/1080p/AVC-encoded image is decent but unremarkable. Sharpness is inconsistent, and some shots appear downright soft. Colors are particularly bold in daytime, outdoor scenes, but things get a bit muddy in low light. Black levels are a tad bright, and there is definitely noise and banding in these low-light scenes. This inconsistency is likely the most obvious result of the low budget, and the transfer is not a bad representation of the source.

SOUND:

The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix is more impressive. This is a highly immersive track with bold, pointed effects and excellent 360-degree sound. The nonstop gunfire, explosions, yelling and carnage envelop the viewer, and the subwoofer is constantly in use. Dialogue is crisp and clear. Range and fidelity are both good. Quieter, tense scenes are perfectly audible, and loud effects never crack or distort. A 5.1 Spanish Dolby Digital dub is included, as are English SDH and Spanish subtitles.

PACKAGING AND EXTRAS:

This two-disc release is packed in a standard case with matching slipcover. The "combo pack" includes the Blu-ray, a DVD copy and UltraViolet/iTunes digital copies. The extras are slim. You get a Commentary by John Erick and Drew Dowdle, which is lively and consistently informative, and two Deleted Scenes (5:08/HD), with optional director commentary. The four Behind-the-Scenes featurettes (13:38/HD) are very shallow and uninteresting.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This is an unexpectedly enjoyable B-movie that was marketed like a disaster film. Owen Wilson and Lake Bell lead their girls to safety amid a rebel coup in this violent thriller that offers an intense first hour. The film backs off the accelerator a bit in the second half, which undercuts the effect, but No Escape is definitely Recommended.

William lives in Burlington, North Carolina, and looks forward to a Friday-afternoon matinee.