“No Escape” is the kind of movie that makes me feel a little bad about being a critic. It’s a strong effort that, with a little more polish and consistency, could have been something special. That’s easy to say and its easy to look at a scene and “armchair quarterback” what could have been done differently. It makes me feel a little bad, but I don’t think I’m wrong.

“No Escape” starts with a wonderful ambiguity that is difficult to find in modern cinema. It started with the trailer and the complete lack of buzz around this film. I knew almost nothing about it going in, which doesn’t really happen to me. Next, the film is intentionally vague in its opening act. Specifics are withheld which effectively increases the tension and adds to the chaos when the situation becomes dire for our characters. Unfortunately, the vagueness ends up being more of a gimmick than an artistic decision. The difference between a gimmick and a solid artistic direction is so often the level of commitment. “No Escape” fell into gimmick-land because it didn’t stick to its guns. The lean plot looses its mobility when it packs on some extra weight in the form of heavy-handed plot turns and incredibly non-subtle thematic messages.

My primary reaction throughout almost the entire film was one of toppling. I wanted “No Escape” to be what it perhaps intended to be, I wanted it to be what it could have been, but I was pretty sure that it wasn’t going to. I guess its better to teeter on the brink of being a good or bad film than simply being an outright bad film. There are moments to enjoy and thrills to be had in “No Escape,” but their inconsistent and punctuated by eye-rolls and long sighs when loses its way.

3 of 6 stars