No Escape (2015) [Blu-Ray]

Director: John Erick Dowdle

Cast: Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan

Release Date: Available on Blu-Ray & DVD November 24, 2015

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 8.5/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

 

Synopsis:

NO ESCAPE centers on an American businessman (Wilson) as he and his family settle into their new home in Southeast Asia. Suddenly finding themselves in the middle of a violent political uprising, they must frantically look for a safe escape as rebels mercilessly attack the city.

When Jack Dwyer (Wilson) loses his job and is forced to relocate his family to Asia to begin a new job and hopefully a new beginning for the family, he is optimistic that things may be starting to fall back into place. There for less than a day, a public revolt and rioting begins destroying the town and in a desperate attempt to get back to his family Jack discovers the terrifying truth, that he and the other new employees of the company he was set to work for are the targets of these attacks and being brutally executed in the streets. In a world he isn’t familiar with and with nowhere to turn, Jack must somehow get his family to safety among this increasing insanity as the entire town comprised of heavily armed individuals attempt to hunt down him and his family.

The latest film from the brother filmmaking team The Brothers Dowdle (Quarantine, Devil), John Erick Dowdle once again takes the helm as director guiding a script he co-wrote along with his brother Drew Dowdle and John does an impressive job guiding this at times nearly unbearably intense thriller with precision. The film also benefits notably from the talented individuals who make up the cast including Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, and Pierce Brosnan and more, all of whom deliver more than capable performances in each of their respective roles.

‘No Escape’ is a powerful, emotionally riveting thriller that is not only brutal and at times unrelenting with the level of intensity it reaches, but with a constant aura of real heart and humanity ever-present under the surface. The Brothers Dowdle have delivered one impressive and frighteningly realistic thriller with ‘No Escape’ and while I was admittedly a bit disappointed with their last filmmaking effort ‘As Above/So Below’ the two unquestionably have some real talent and have delivered some impressive and notable films in the past and it’s refreshing to see them succeed so well here with a film quite unlike anything they’ve done prior. Overall, ‘No Escape’ is an intense and well crafted thriller complimented by solid performances from the cast; I highly recommend it.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘No Escape’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks wonderful, delivering a sharp, detailed presentation complimented by a more than sufficient bitrate and with no notable faults to be found within, holding up impressively even during the fast moving and darkly lit sequences which occupy a large portion of the film, never causing anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a top notch high definition video presentation that should easily please the masses.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This lossless multichannel soundtrack sounds fantastic, providing a heavily aggressive and clean, discrete audio presentation from start to finish, constantly utilizing all five available channels to their fullest potential in order to send bullets, debris and numerous other fitting auditory elements constantly throughout the channels, not to mention taking full advantage of the bass to really accentuate some of the more explosive moments, while never resulting in any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible. Overall, this is an impressive and hard hitting 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that contributes a great deal to the overall viewing experience.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘No Escape’ includes a few worthwhile extras. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Writer/Director John Erick Dowdle and Writer/Producer Drew Dowdle’. Also included on the release are a number of ‘Deleted Scenes’ with optional commentary by Writer/Director John Erick Dowdle (running approximately 5 minutes altogether), in addition to a number of Behind the Scenes shorts which include interviews/comments with the cast and crew along with Behind the Scenes Footage (approximately 14 minutes altogether).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

Film Rating: 8.5/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

‘No Escape’ Arrives On Blu-ray™, DVD and On Demand November 24, 2015 & Available Now in Digital HD from Anchor Bay Entertainment & The Weinstein Company.

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