No Escape takes two people out of their comfort zone and waits to see if they survive. Bell and Wilson, known almost exclusively for comedies, face a distinctly unfunny situation in Southeast Asia and, perhaps surprisingly, rise to the challenge.

Unrelenting and barbaric, the uprising takes an American family from pan to fire through a series of tense encounters with the revolting citizens. The three female leads convey stoicism and hysterics in equal measure, with Wilson falling into the alpha-male role a little too quickly/easily.

Oh, and Pierce Brosnan continues his campaign to be in The Expendables 4.

No Escape tries to be for coups d’état what The Impossible was for tsunamis. The counter-intuitive casting of Bell and Wilson pays off but it doesn’t make big enough waves.

RATING: 3/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan

DIRECTOR: John Erick Dowdle

WRITERS: John Erick Dowdle, Drew Dowdle 

SYNOPSIS: In their new overseas home, an American family soon finds themselves caught in the middle of a coup, and they frantically look for a safe escape in an environment where foreigners are being immediately executed.