Movie review: There’s ‘No Escape’ from script problems in action drama

The thriller "No Escape" is a rough ride, an bumpy mix of gritty action with occasionally preachy politics.

In an unnamed southeast Asian country, engineer Jack Dwyer (Owen Wilson) has just arrived at a new job on a multinational corporation's massive water project. With him are his wife Annie (Lake Bell) and their two daughters, Lucy (Sterling Jerins) and Beeze (Claire Geare).

On the day the Dwyers arrive, a coup topples the militaristic prime minister. The rebels are killing people right and left, especially foreigners — especially anyone involved with the water project. And one of the rebel leaders has Jack's photo.

Jack and Annie must gather up the girls, and figure out how to get out of their hotel to the U.S. Embassy. But with rebels on every street, finding a way to safety seems impossible. The family does get some help from a mystery man, Hammond (Pierce Brosnan), a garrulous Brit they met on the plane, who turns out to be more than he seems.

Director John Erick Dowdle ("Quarantine," "As Above, So Below"), co-writing with his brother Drew (who also produced), stages moments of breakneck tension as the coup unfolds. The highlight is a scene where Jack and Annie must jump from one rooftop to another, with Jack literally throwing their daughters across the gap for Annie to catch.

For every energized scene, though, something pops up that's more problematic. Wilson and Bell have little chemistry, and Wilson seems out of his element with this dark material. Meanwhile, Brosnan is stuck portraying a character who is more a plot device than a full-fledged human being. Then there's the anonymous, and casually racist, depiction of the rebels and every other native in this Asian country. (The movie was filmed in Thailand.)

Worst of all, the central moral question of the Dowdles' script — how far would you go to survive? — is presented in such a ham-fisted fashion that the movie ultimately absolves the characters from any heavy reckoning.

Apparently, what the Dowdles can't escape from in "No Escape" is Hollywood's expectations that everything, even a murderous coup, will be tied up neatly by the closing credits.

spmeans@sltrib.com

Twitter: @moviecricket

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'No Escape'

Solid action can't overcome the flaws in this thriller about an American family caught in the middle of a coup in Asia.

Where • Theaters everywhere.

When • Opens Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Rating • R for strong violence including a sexual assault, and for language.

Running time • 103 minutes.