Inescapable (2012)

Number Rolled: 42

Movie Name/Year: Inescapable (2012)

Genre: Action & Adventure

Length: 93 minutes

Rating: R

Production Companies: IFC Films, Myriad Pictures, Alliance Films, Foundry Films, Out of Africa Entertainment, Telefilm Canada, The Harold Greenberg Fund, Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa, Killer Films

Executive Producer: Kirk D’Amico, Mark Slone, Christine Vachon

Director: Ruba Nadda

Writer: Ruba Nadda

Actors: Alexander Siddig, Joshua Jackson, Marisa Tomei, Oded Fehr, Saad Siddiqui, Fadia Nadda, Bonnie Lee Bouman, Jay Anstey, Sean Redpath

Adib must find a way into Damascus when his daughter disappears. She’d traveled to the area without telling him in order to research the past he refuses to discuss.

Selina’s Point of View:

What do you have if you edit Taken (2008) and take out all the thrilling chases and action? Inescapable.

This film was unbearably boring. I’ve never had to work so hard to stay awake in my life. Not even in college during accounting.

The acting was fine… but the story, the script, the soundtrack, and even the camera angles were all gratingly annoying and painful to watch.

I’ve got nothing else to say. I hated this movie.

Cat’s Point of View:

Political conflict dramas aren’t generally my cup of tea. I can, however, get sucked into a good mystery. It appeals to my curiosity like a siren song.

When I saw the cast involved with this film, I had a feeling I would probably enjoy it, even if I didn’t like the story.

I am a huge fan of Game of Thrones (2011-) and also quite enjoy DaVinci's Demons (2013-). It was nice to see Alexander Siddig (Reign of Fire, Syriana, Clash of the Titans) in the lead role here.

He brought quite the intensity to his character on the hunt for his kidnapped daughter. He was believable as a clever former intelligence officer trying to stay a couple steps ahead of the past his child had run afoul of.

Oded Fehr (Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Super Hybrid, Resident Evil: Extinction) is an actor I’d probably watch in most anything. He has portrayed a ‘good guy’ in most films that I have seen him in. It was a nice change of pace to see him in a role with questionable intent.

Just an interesting note of trivia for fans of Dawson's Creek (1998-2003) – there’s a bit of a ‘six degrees’ type bridge between Joshua Jackson (Americano, Shutter, Cursed) and his fellow Dawson’s alum, James Van Der Beek (Labor Day, The Rules of Attraction, CSI: Cyber). Oded Fehr was amongst the supporting cast for Texas Rangers (2001).

Of course, I haven’t left out Marisa Tomei (Wild Hogs, The Wrestler, Trainwreck). She is generally impressive in whatever role she takes on. She didn’t disappoint here in transforming into the love left behind when Adib fled Damascus 20 years ago.

Overall, the movie felt a little slow to me, but it wasn’t bad. I was invested enough to want to know what had happened to the girl, that I was willing to see where the story took me.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 19%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 28%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 2.5/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – .5/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 2.7/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 2.5/5

Movie Trailer: