Absolom 2022

On the surface, this looks like a dumb movie which is overly violent and too seedy because it features nothing but hardened criminals plus the normal sadistic warden Hollywood always shows in all modern-day films.

But....it turns out the story isn't as sordid as it looks and the violence, although plentiful, is somehow not overdone. Also, the chief villain " Walter Marek" (Stuart Wilson) is a man with a good sense of humor. The comedic relief he brings is a real plus to the story. By the way, Wilson doesn't look like Mel Gibson but his voice sure sounds similar.

"No Escape" is strictly an action movie with an all-male cast that has a grim atmosphere of convicts fighting it out on an inescapable island in the year 2022.

Profanity isn't as much as you'd except in a tough film like this and - in a real oddity - Lance Henriksen is the nicest guy in the movie! He never utters a bad or angry word. If you know the characters Henriksen usually plays, you know this is a rarity. Ray Liotta, Michael Lerner and Ernie Hudson also star, so it's a decent cast.

You could do a lot worse looking for two hours of "escapist" fare.

Soldier Ray (Goodfellas) Liotta is sent to Prison for shooting one of his commanding officers in the year 2022- but it's no ordinary Prison, they send if to a deserted Island where bad ass criminals are taken and left alone to fend for themselves FOR EVER. When he arrives he realises there are two tribes one a violent and sadistic one known as the 'Outsiders' led by Marek (a great performance from British Actor Stuart Wilson and a Peaceful, loving and tight-knit community run by 'The Father' (a tailor made role for Lance Henriksen) who would live the rest of their lives in Peace and Harmony if it wasn't for Marek and his dirty,Ugly band of bad asses. Liotta needs to find his way off the Island which is 200 miles from the nearest coastline and is constantly watched by The Warden who will kill anyone who attempts to get off as well have having to fight with the good guys against the Outsiders who are becoming more and more fierce with each attack, This is a very well made Sci-fi actioner from Martin Campbell who has since made 007's Goldeneye (1995), The Mask of Zorro (1998) and Vertical Limit (2000) and is currently working on the Zorro Sequel due out Next Year. There are also plenty of faces to spot for British Viewers including Jack Shepherd (Yes! Wycliffe himself) who is suprisingly good the as the village mechanic who has tried for years to build a contraption to get them off the island, and The late Don Henderson who stars as the resident beer Maker.

Unfortunately the film bombed on both sides of the Atlantic taking a measly $15m in the states and a pathetic £500,000 here in the UK on it's original release 10 years ago but don't let that put you off it's very well acted with plenty of action and Drama.

My Rating:- **** out of *****

decent flick. Definitely better than i thought it would be. however there is one moment in the film that supremely creeped me out. There's a moment where the prison warden is reading the rap sheet of capt. Robbins (Ray Liotta), that includes some of his special forces history. He reads off saying something like "oh so you were in Libya Behngazi, in 2011?" Very creepy for a movie made in 94, given whats gone in in Libya, Behngazi and that its happened in 2011. Also the fact that like Capt. Robbins, in in the American special forces, recently 6 soldiers working for British special forces were captured and deported in Behngazi Libya.

That was the biggest WTF moment in the movie for me lol.

Overall though not a bad flick. Would have been disappointed if I dropped a few bucks on it in theatres, but i saw it cheaply in netflix and it was worth it. check it out!

I saw this in the theatre when it came out and loved it then, still enjoy now after all these years. It is like a Lethal Weapon but for prisoners on a deserted island. It is not Oscar worthy, but it is still enjoyable to watch if you can find it.

I have not been able to find this one for years, pretty much since Blockbuster went belly up back in the day. If you are in the mood for a decent action flick you can veg out to, you can't go wrong.

As another review mentioned, there is some intense irony in the fact he is charged with murdering his commanding officer for ordering him to kill innocent civilians, in Benghazi, Lybia...in 2011! Being a veteran myself, I can imagine vigilante thoughts have gone through many heads over the real Benghazi...alas, that would be wrong...but it is not illegal to think it! (Snowflake disclaimer: Please, do not get any ideas I advocate vigilantism or murder, I do not).

Ray Liota stars in this sci-fi actioner, sent to an in-escapable island prison he bands together with a group of fellow inmates to fight off a band of savages. Stuart Wilson plays Marek the psycho leader of the savages and his over the top portrayal fits in with the late night b-movie feel. Also appearing are a whole host of British character actors along with Lance Henrickson and Ernie Hudson who seem to make a living off this type of direct to video fare.

If your not into sci-fi or action you may as well leave now, this is one of those films that regular appears late at night on the movie channel and is worth watching because it's a fun no brainer. The best way to describe it is a cross of Mad Max and Fortress the Christopher Lambert Sci-Fi effort. This film is superior to Fortress but falls way short of Mad Max.

Liota is pretty good but this is no where near his quality of performance in Goodfella's and to be honest it doesn't need to be as this is b-movie action fun not Scorsese. He drives the plot along and carries the action scenes off well. Lance Henrikson is reliable as ever and adds to his impressive list of fantasy/sci-fi appearances, Ernie Hudson is OK but will never escape from the isn't that the fourth guy in ghostbusters who didn't have much to do? One for the late night sci-fi / b-movie fans 6/10