Escape: Human Cargo (1998 TV Movie) User Reviews

Engaging true story

[JoeytheBrit · 7/10 · 7 July 2006]

It can't be easy being Treat Williams. Or Bill Paxton. Or Geoff Daniels, for that matter. They're all accomplished actors, and yet they rarely get the roles they deserve because they just lack that indefinable quality that separates the megastars from the journeymen. Consequently, they lose roles to actors who are not as accomplished as they are. How frustrating must that be, I wonder?

Williams plays John MacDonald here, a businessman who ignores his government's advice to deal direct with a shady Arab property developer, and winds up a virtual prisoner with no guarantees for his safety once the job is completed. This is a cable TV production, and its pretty good. The pace is leisurely, and it works well because it enables us to experience the slow realisation of MacDonald that, firstly he is being cheated by his Arab clients, then that his chances of full payment are slim, and finally that his life is in danger.

The final scenes, in which MacDonald is hidden in a small cargo box on an airport runway in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees are suitably tense, and well-paced by director Simon Wincer who does well to avoid sensationalising the story. Only the sheik with whom MacDonald locks horns comes across as unconvincing, fulfilling that hoary old cliché about the oil-rich sheik who likes nothing more than sampling males and puffing on his hubble-bubble pipe.

It's just a cultural thing, but I don't have sex with men

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 6/10 · 9 April 2012]

Treat wakes up very suddenly at the beginning, from a nightmare that he then realizes is reality: he's in a Showtime film(something cemented by bare breasts within the first few minutes), meaning he has not yet left the real-life limbo for actors that is... the made-for-TV movie. John McDonald had a deal(e-yi-e-yi-o?). A housing project, having agreed to the terms with a prince, but when he arrives, things don't work out quite the way he expected. For a while, his biggest problem is boredom(his own as well as that of the audience), such as when he rides with a sheik who drives around to no less than 3 different places for the best date(the fruit, that is... they're not trolling for tail), but... eventually... he is in a bad situation, such as when the aforementioned oil tyccoon is puttin' the moves on him(and yes, that is where the one line summary comes from... one of the several examples of actually funny dialog in this, and Williams does deliver it well... and I really enjoyed the friendship between him and Avatar's Lang, who pulls the same "those thur dumb natives" face, albeit this time I think you're meant to agree with him), as well as trapped in the country. Set in the 70's, a lot of the negative stuff(including the problems that come out of nowhere) seen here may be accurate(if one should definitely take the assertion that "this is a true story", which opens this flick, with a grain of salt), if the differences between the countries(ooh, scary Saudi Arabia!) seem exaggerated in the favor of the US. Would it have killed them to put in just one Muslim depicted in a positive light? Seriously, even Lifetime's The Stoning had that, if only to have an insider to explain just how awful everyone else there is. The last third is genuinely engaging and thrilling, with our engineer thinking up and attempting to execute a nifty plan. Doesn't save the whole, though. Too little, too late. There is some strong language in this, and aforementioned brief nudity. I recommend this only to big fans of the lead. 6/10

A better title might've been "Trapped" or "Held Up"

[jordondave-28085 · 7/10 · 9 October 2023]

(1997) Escape / Escape: Human Cargo THRILLER/ SUSPENSE

A better title for this film than the two names that are apparent which is "Escape" which would look like a POW picture and is not and "Human Cargo" which would look like a human smuggling film and is completely the opposite! A better title should've been something like "Trapped" or "Held up" or some another! All this means that in order to enjoy this film, one must totally ignore the movie's ridiculous assortment of movies titles because of the many possible misconceptions it could've bring! This is a story based on fact about American engineer and entrepreneur John McDonald (Treat Williams) being dicked around by a couple of wealthy Saudi's while staying at Saudi Arabia! Who was hired and committed to handle an expensive project with a contract until it was reneged by the 2 Saudi's who brought him there in the first place! Despite it's budget, it's really a not bad film since a lot has changed since the late 70s.

Pretty good!

[Shayenna · 2 February 2006]

My husband knows how much I like Treat Williams, and found this videotape at a flea market for 2 bucks, and he came home with it and we watched it, and both of us actually really liked it! It was a lot better then I thought it would be.

Drama mixed with a little humor, Treat plays John MacDonald, who goes to Saudi Arabia to get the project-construction deal, and keeps getting let down or ticked off about it while he is there..well, after being there for so long, and things not going the way he planned, he tries to leave, but can't, because of their laws, it is up to the Shiek to let him have his passport back, which he refuses, so after trying again to do right by making this housing project, he gets duped again, and decided with a help of an American friend he met there, they decide to put him in a cargo box to get him home on a plane...

This is based on a true story, and was actually pretty interesting.

A frightening true story!

[jessewillis · 8/10 · 7 February 2000]

I bought this movie based upon the IMDB rating. I wasn't expecting too much but was pleasantly surprised by the original story this film tells. Treat Williams plays a prefab housing engineer who travels to Saudi Arabia in the late 70's to cinch a multi-million dollar deal. But when he arrives he discovers that what he bargained for wasn't actually much of a bargain. His original deal with the Saudi government collapses and he is forced to rely on the good graces of his unreliable but charismatic Arab middle man. As the title implies things don't get much better and Williams and he must try to escape before he ends up under a dune in the desert! If you look at the cover of this video you'd think it was just another action movie. It isn't it, in fact its a very scary and true story of cultural clash and a surprisingly balanced look at the dubious justice system of Saudi courts. Check it out if your a fan of Treat Williams or if you appreciate a reality based story. I'd also recommend "Doomsday Gun" which deals in similar stuff as this.