Owen Wilson is known for his goofy characters and comedy movie, I think we can all safely agree that that is his role and he does it well. I like watching him in movies and yes he does have “his thing” that is shown in ever movie and pretty much plays the same character. It works though, and I like his movies for that reason. His most recent movie is a far departure from what we are used to in the movie No Escape. Talk about taking his character to a whole new level and stepping out of what he does best, the most violent and serious movie you may have seen him in and not used to being in for Owen Wilson.
The movie follows a family traveling to Asia for a new job that Jack (Owen Wilson) accepts and has to move to a new place, culture and lifestyle. We get the Wilson charm that we know and love at the beginning making this a great start to the movie. Once they arrive they are met by another great actor Pierce Brosnan who plays a friendly stranger who helps them in this foreign country. It really isn’t long before they get to their destination that the movie starts going and when I say going, this story earthquakes like the biggest earthquake to hit you.
Some movies like to get you invested in the characters and want you to know who they are, how they are and what to expect before bringing in the suspense or drama that will drive the movie. Nope not here, this let’s you know who is in it and BAM, you are in the middle of it and I recommend you strap in for a crazy ride. I loved that about the movie, I am not one for long drawn out openings and then have the suspense happening the last 2 minutes of the movie and then be done. Certain story lines need the backstory for the movie to make sense, this one you got what you needed to know and lets go off to the races.
The movie is rated R for the violence and language, but most certainly for the subject matter of the movie, there are so many tense moments in the movie I had a hard time sitting still, this is “at the edge of your seat” kind of movie. I kept going with all of the moments the family had, I caught myself many times just aching and wondering what was going to happen next and worried for them. There were some pretty tense moments where the kids were involved and every actor in this movie gave their all in the movie and made me believe their fears and intense moments. I watched an edited version of this movie and we removed a lot of the violence and I am glad we did, if you are not up for that don’t watch it without seeing an edited version. Trust me even with the movie being edited you will not lose any content that is important to the plot of the movie or the suspense that you feel.
I started out by talking about Owen Wilson and his typical character roles that we are used to. He nailed this part, he was amazing and I love seeing this intense role he played. He brought out his emotions and fears, and his courage at all the right moments. He can do serious roles and he can portray more than just the comedy we see him in. I have to tell you, I needed to sit down and watch one of his classic roles just to bring myself back from the ride I was on. I needed to see him where I could laugh and know all is well in the world.
With that said, I think you need to watch this movie, if you are ok with the violence and swearing, then you will be fine, enjoy the movie because in all reality it didn’t need those parts but I can see how having that in the movie makes it that much more powerful. If you do want to watch it and have an edited version use the banner below. I hope many people can see this movie and love to see Owen Wilson do some of his best work. If you are the type of person that looks at what critics gives a movie especially if it was given a low rating or bad score, ignore those, trust me you will not regret watching this movie. The movie was panned by critics on rotten tomatoes, so please ignore that and watch it, if you make your decision based on that you are missing out on a great movie with some great action and emotional roles. I say this is a 2GO pick for sure.
