Escape

Honst review: It wasn't too bad. I saw the ratings before watching, but took a chance anyway. I lived in Thailand for a year, so that was my reason for giving it a chance. It was nostaligic for me to see the gorgeous locations from where I once visited. The plot is predictable, but acting is decent enough to enjoy it.

It's worth giving it a watch if you want to see or learn about Thailand, or if like the acting of Howell and/or Rhys-Davies.

I must say in all honesty, the plot is not a true depiction of the Thai people or the Thai culture. Of course it's a Hollywood movie, so the plot is meant to be far-fetched. Give it a watch and see what I mean.

Man, there was more preaching and praying in this movie than parishioners would be subjected to on any given Sunday in church. Practically EVERYONE but the bad guys extolled the great and powerful virtues of religion. After a while, the flick felt more like a Jehovah's Witness production than a survival adventure film. Ugh. Don't waste your time with this tripe unless you like preachy films.

Anora Lyn playing Kim Jordan was not impressive. She did not convey the sense of passion and intimacy required in this role. As a doctor interacting with patients, a wife concerned about her husband and as a mother of a dead child, I did not feel the connections. There were many opportunities to immerse the viewer into the plot. The result was to defocus the viewer on the subplots of the religious elements and struggles of the captain as the main theme. This role requires the talent of a seasoned actress such as Meryl Streep. The complexity of the role was very challenging and perhaps better directing would have made a difference.

Excellent movie!!! Exciting, riveting and shows the reality of learning to trust in God!!

Whilst in possession of a film crew and at least two good Western actors and three good 'bad guy' local actors, all on location in Thailand, why didn't the director make a 1st rate movie about pirates, human trafficking and kidnapping, all topically relevant themes? My guess is that having turned up on location and finding a lead actress who seems she couldn't be bothered with it all and possibly on a limited budget and time scale, he just did the best he could and went home. This is no 'Apocalypse Now', it's just about 'adequate' as very light entertainment, possibly with financial backing from a 'faith group' as the movie's over done, religious message would suggest. What I find so disappointing, is that this could have been a great movie given the location and topic. In my view, it's such a pity that a great opportunity was missed.