MOVIE REVIEW: No Escape

For our next review, we're going to follow this one up with another unusual thriller. One I said we'd watch for the good Asian representation, and that there would be no bloodshed for this one, given that we had just finished watching a different sharp-looking thriller namely, Fresh.

Are buddy-cop movies still a thing? I mean, this movie kind of flirts with the idea — but it’s way too intense to be called fun. It's a Pierce Brosnan and Owen Wilson-starrer, No Escape!

poster from impawards.com

Like any good Bond film, No Escape opens with a high-stakes, heart-pounding scene that’ll have you gripping your seat. But unlike Bond, this isn’t a fun adventure — it’s chaos. There are knives, gunshots, and bodies everywhere. No gadgets or cool one-liners here.

The story then shifts to Owen Wilson and his family, who’ve just relocated to an unnamed Asian country for his job. Along for the ride is Pierce Brosnan, who claims he's there for vacation. Think of it as an aging James Bond meets an Owen Wilson family-man character. It's an odd but interesting pairing.

Soon, things take a turn when Owen Wilson, trying to get the morning paper, learns there’s been no word from his company since their arrival. What follows is a violent uprising by rebels, and before long, their hotel is under siege. Wilson, as a regular guy with no spy skills or charm, does his best to keep his family safe — and his frantic attempts to protect them are as thrilling as they are nerve-wracking.

There are some standout moments, like the roof-deck escape, which is as satisfying as it is suspenseful. And when Brosnan swoops in to save the family, pulling off a truly Bond-esque escape (with the help of his sidekick, Kenny Rogers — yes, you read that right), it’s one of the film's most enjoyable, witty moments.

One thing that really sticks with you, though, is the mantra Owen Wilson and Lake Bell (his wife) repeat as they race to stay ahead of their captors: "We need to stay ten steps ahead." It’s their guiding principle, and it keeps them moving as one — even with their kids in tow. Every time the children (looking at you, Lucy!) made a move that added to the suspense, we were on the edge of our seats, holding our breath.

The one hiccup, however, comes with the ending. The boat scene and the border crossing felt rushed and left us with more questions than answers. But I guess that's how it goes in life-threatening situations — you just focus on survival and don’t worry about the details.

Still, despite the ending, No Escape is a thrilling ride. We’re probably staying away from thrillers for a while though...

Also, Owen Wilson did say “Wow!” at one point. Glad they kept that in. But not so glad about the travel anxiety it’s now given us. After watching this, flying overseas now feels a little too close to a Final Destination movie. Trauma's real.

MOVIE REVIEW: Goldfinger Part 2

(Continued from the previous post.)

Bond was eventually captured and what followed was one of the most iconic scenes, an exchange of dialogue between an antagonist and a protagonist in a film. Goldfinger really had lots of iconic scenes.

Goldfinger (left) interrogating Bond (right) from independent.co.uk

Bond was fixed on a platform before a laser machine as Goldfinger was laying out his evil plans. Bond tried to buy himself some time and maybe convince Goldfinger not to kill him by saying different reasons. One was that MI6 would undoubtedly send 008 to replace him if he would not report about his assignment. Another was that he overheard Goldfinger's evil plan "Operation Grand Slam". This was when Bond asked Goldfinger, "You expect me to talk?" and Goldfinger answered, "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die." Soon after, Bond was released and was just kept as a prisoner inside Goldfinger's lair.

Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore from jamesbondfanon.wikia.com

Bond met Goldfinger's pilot, Pussy Galore, as they were on their way to Goldfinger's lair in the United States. Unlike in "Dr. No", Goldfinger's lair did not have a fancy hotel room and services for Bond, although he would be treated fairly good in later scenes. Bond escaped his guards and overheard Goldfinger's evil plans again, this time in detail because Goldfinger was actually presenting it to a set of businessmen whom would also be all killed by Goldfinger. Although one was shot by Odd Job and not killed alongside his businessmen mates. This scene would be replicated 21 years later in "A View To A Kill".

Bond placed his GPS tracker and left a note in it to be fetched by Felix Leiter. As the day of Goldfinger's plans came near, Bond made Pussy Galore fell for him despite her obvious resistance ever since they met each other.

Pussy turned sides and would be revealed to help Bond stop Goldfinger's plan.

Bond, together with Odd Job and a bunch of Goldfinger's troops made it to Fort Knox and executed the plan. Bond was handcuffed inside the vault and the CIA, and the authorities swooped in to foil the plan. Goldfinger escaped hastily leaving his plan to Odd Job.

Although left for damnation by his employer, Odd Job stayed loyal to the plan and still went on to stop Bond from foiling their plan. After a heavily painful fight with Bond, Odd Job came across death when he was electrocuted after reaching for his metal hat. He came out to be one of those villains who was ultimately killed because of their unique weapon of choice, or characteristic.

Bond diffused the bomb set by Goldfinger and was soon on his way for recognition from the President of the United States. However, Bond's plane to the White House was hijacked by Goldfinger and Pussy. 

Bond was shocked to see Goldfinger pointing his golden gun at him inside, but he managed to distract Goldfinger by asking where Pussy was. He tried to grab the gun from Goldfinger, however, a shot was fired during the process and led to the breaking of the airplane window. Goldfinger got sucked out to his death as Bond and Pussy tried their luck in landing the airplane.

Goldfinger and his golden gun from wikipedia.org

They did land down safely, and Bond told Pussy this cool one-liner, "this is no time to be rescued", as the film shifts into its end credits.

As what would happen over the next 50, or more, after this film, the next Bond actors would get to their top Bond form by the time they would be in their 3rd movie (The Spy Who Loved Me, The World Is Not Enough, Skyfall). They would be in their best shape, and they would be more confident than ever by the time they would reach their 3rd Bond outing. This film, Goldfinger, started it all. Sean Connery was the epitome of coolness and suave spy action hero. Although the plot was not the best, the gadgets, the action scenes, the chase scenes, the characters, and Bond were all top-notch.