6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
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.
Starring: Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Spencer Garrett, Sterling JerinsThriller | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A fear of the unknown is one of the most basic human responses to change, to an upsetting of routine, to a new perspective or place of residence. Trepidation often sneaks into even the most cheerfully optimistic outlooks, particularly when the change is big, like, say, moving to a new country where literally everything is foreign: the language, the people, the food, the customs. That feeling of being an outsider takes its toll and the adjustment period can be more difficult than one may be led to believe. And that's without bullets flying, bodies in the street, no safe haven, and hunters looking for any unfamiliar face to kill. Director John Erick Dowdle's (Devil) No Escape follows an American family through a night of terror in which they find themselves chased by roving criminal gangs who have just overthrown the government and are seeking out Western faces to kill.
No Escape generally looks fine, but the 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer struggles in some key areas. Basic definition is merely OK. Faces and clothes and the rougher urban landscapes -- both day and night -- serve up passably complex details. Pores, fabrics, and concrete aren't so tactile and perfectly defined as those seen on the best transfers, but they get the job done. Colors are fine. Greens and golds in the hotel lobby, Jack's standard blue shirt, and natural green leaves, grasses, and shrubs are bright and balanced in the daytime sunlight. Nighttime shots sometimes struggle to hold a deep black, sometimes pushing a bit to the bright side. Flesh tones push a bit pasty. Noise and banding are issues, particularly in lower light and smoky environments, respectively. Light macroblocking and a few jagged edges creep up at times, particularly early on in the moments leading up to the Prime Minister's murder. Overall, however, this is a good, perfectly watchable image from Anchor Bay.
No Escape features an enveloping, and violently so, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Jungle ambience and airport clatter and chatter effortlessly envelop the listener at film's start, high points in the track for nonviolent sound immersion. After that, it's a steady stream of explosions, gunfire, crashes, smashes, clashes, and other sounds that convey the violence with a depth, weight, and precision that captures the chaotic details with frightening accuracy. Gunfire zips around the stage and pounds the speakers, and distant shots pop with a nicely natural sensation. Explosions offer plenty of wallop. Debris flies through the listening area with startling clarity, down to the finest bits of shrapnel. A downpour saturates the stage in chapter 13. Music is aggressive, tightly detailed at the bottom, and placed around the stage with balance. Dialogue is clear and focused, even through some of the more extreme moments of chaos.
No Escape contains a standard trio of extras: commentary, deleted scenes, and a featurette. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV
digital copy are included with purchase.
No Escape is a tight, focused, and entertaining movie that finds its strengths in its ability to portray a very raw sense of danger, hopelessness, exhaustion, and fear. It's a simple story by any definition but presented skillfully on both sides of the camera. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of No Escape features decent video and excellent audio. Extras are comprised of the standard trio of commentary, deleted scenes, and featurette. Recommended.
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