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49 reviews in total

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22 out of 27 people found the following review useful:
Mad Max meets Fortress, 28 January 2004

Author: Grann-Bach (Grann-Bach@jubii.dk) from Denmark

When I first sat down, to see this movie, I wasn't expecting much; In fact, I was preparing myself mentally for a total flop... but it really took me by surprise. It's actually quite interesting, and has some good action sequences. The plot is pretty interesting, and moves along very nicely, quickly moving on, constantly developing. The acting was convincing enough, there wasn't really any scenes that were terrible, even though a lot of the scenes and lines were very corny; it fit perfectly in with the movie, and as such wasn't out of place. It's pretty much a B-movie, but if you like(or just enjoy mildly) B-movies, you'll probably be at least reasonably entertained by it. It's reminiscent of movies like Fortress, but just a little better in that it's very unpredictable; no matter what you think is gonna happen, you'll be surprised again and again by what happens. It's pretty interesting all the way through, it has some good, 80's style action, corny B-movie lines, a B-movie feel throughout the movie... so, if you can watch it for free, either borrow it from a friend, or watch it on TV... if not, only watch it if you're into movies like Fortress. 6/10

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23 out of 29 people found the following review useful:
Underrated Prison Action, 15 December 2004
Author: falkar (loganbraxton@hotmail.com) from England

On the surface, 'No Escape' is just another generic action movie set in a prison environment. An island prison from which escape is impossible? An Alcatraz by any other name... Plus the 'two faction-one nice, one evil' has overtones of Lord of the Flies. While both of the above comments are applicable, the film rises above itself. With good performances from powerful actors such as Ray Liotta and Stuart Wilson, along with a sharp script, 'No Escape' is a hidden gem, and well worth seeking out. Final Score: 7.5/10

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12 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Very underrated Entertainment, 29 March 2004
Author: liammurphy1 from United Kingdom

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 *****

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11 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Trashy but very good fun, 17 September 2004

Author: wierzbowskisteedman from England

Ray Liotta plays Robbins, a criminal sent to an island prison where, due to lack of supervision, the inmates have formed two tribes. The hippy tribe is led by the great Lance Henriksen, while Stuart Wilson enjoys himself delivering cheesy one liners as the main bad guy.

Ray Liotta isn't exactly riding a post-Goodfellas high with this film, but its still very entertaining as trashy action fare. Liotta has a role that would probably be reserved for Arnold or Sly if this was a bigger production, but still makes a good job of playing a violent anti-hero. There are some great battle scenes and fun supporting performances.

Overall there isn't really much else to say about "No Escape", apart from you will be entertained if you enjoy action films that you can't take too seriously. If I'm objective I can't score it very highly but for entertainment value it gets 4/5.

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8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
A forgotten movie, 1 February 2002

Author: bsinc from Ljubljana, Slovenia

I totally agree with the comment given by Slurpee 7. I first saw it as a young teen and thought it was OK, but every time I saw it afterwards it just kept getting better and better. I don't know why. The story is very simple, but Campbell's movies just make you forget about that(e.g. Vertical limit- with a rather stupid story). This is the first movie I ever saw Ray Liotta and the man just has such powerful and "vicious" eyes.Great for the part. And the villain(excellently portrayed by Wilson), referring to his "habitat" as a first class hotel and making constant jokes - gotta love it. A movie about survival, and what a man is actually prepared to do for it. 9/10

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10 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Actually This Is Kind Of Fun, 12 August 2005

Author: no-skyline from London, England

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

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8 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Better Than How It First Looks, 4 December 2007

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from United States

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.

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9 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Very good sci-fi adventure movie, 9 October 2004

Author: PeterRoeder from Lyngby, Denmark

This is not a perfect movie but I'd rate it 9/10. It is a very good sci-fi adventure movie which is different from other movies at the time (1994). It has the look and feel of a Planet of the Apes - at times it is a bit silly and too violent/sadistic but it usually makes sense. The main character is someone who would usually be played by Van Damme. Anyway, there is a freshness and an excitement in this movie which is really all the genre needs. If only there were more movies of this type. I guess, it's like this typical pulp-sci-fi thriller. The effects are not very impressive but it has a kind of post-80s look to it. This was before CGI became normal. I think this movie is going to prove especially satisfying to fans of adventure movies such as "Conan" and to sci-fi fans who likes movies such as "Planet of the Apes". Of course, it is also a prison-break movie, however, I don't think that is what the movie is really about.

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9 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Goodfella. Badfella., 30 March 2004
Author: MovieAddict2012 from UK

Decent enough action flick about a futuristic island penal colony that no one has ever escaped - enter murderer Robbins (Ray Liotta) who manages to break all the rules and band together with a group of fellow escapees (Kevin Dillon and Lance Henriksen). Together they try to leave the island but find themselves faced with no escape, hence the title of the film.

Ray Liotta ("Goodfellas") is quite good in the action hero role - one that might usually be reserved for a Schwarzenegger or Stallone. But the real flaw of the film lies in the long sequences in between the good escape sequences and action sets - such as all the extremely unbelievable, plot-driven, corny dialogue.

Dillon (Bunny from "Platoon" and Matt's brother) is OK but his character isn't quite as "cool" as the filmmakers think he is. Henriksen ("Aliens") is good as usual but really the film comes down to Liotta's performance. It drives the movie forward but I can't really say it's anything tremendously special.

3/5 stars.

- John Ulmer

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12 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
This was actually a fairly decent movie, 18 December 2000
Author: MovieAlien from az

Very similiar plot structure as "The Shawshank Redemption". Only difference here is that it's far into the future, the protagonist did commit the crime, and he's an ex-soldier, not a banker.

The new society, on an island thousands of miles away, is inhabited by two groups of people, one a barbaric cult run by a sadist(Stuart Wilson, good as always, hilarious as the villain) and a peaceful society of people (run by Lance Henrikson, also good) who just want to live their lives in harmony. As the two groups butt heads, the main character (played by Ray Liotta, with better acting here than his usual films) just wants to get the heck out of there and battle the fascist society that got him in.

I don't dig the bad reviews. Personally I thought this was very well done. Some bad lines here and there, but not enough to distract attention from the plot. (Which was far superior compared to "Escape from New York")

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