Owen Wilson has played all sorts of characters in his storied career. He's played a cowboy, the perfect ex-boyfriend, even a writer nostalgic for the roaring 1920s. However, the trailer for his new film, No Escape, shows him playing a role he's never ventured to play before in his career: a badass. Take a look at his transformation in the newly released trailer, embedded below.
The Weinstein Company's official YouTube page dropped this trailer for the Dowdle Brothers produced film, which co-stars Lake Bell and Pierce Brosnan. No Escape tells the story of a man and his family who, after moving to an Asian country to start a new life, get caught up in a bloody revolt. What begins as a family drama, quickly turns into a fight for survival and a battle to get to the safety of the American embassy.
"Badass" is the last word I'd ascribe to quantify the type of characters that Owen Wilson has played in his career, but sure enough No Escape looks to turn that statement into a falsehood. In fact, some of the stuff we see Wilson do in this trailer is refreshing when compared to the rest of his work. Sure, we've seen him get into some interesting action and car chases in past films like Starsky And Hutch, and even I Spy, but there's only one other film that could really measure up to the levels of serious ass kicking that's on display in this trailer, and that's Behind Enemy Lines.
Pairing newly initiated bad ass Wilson with veteran bad ass Pierce Brosnan is also something exciting to consider, as Brosnan's been looking to make an action oriented comeback with films like The November Man starting to take up real estate on his resume again. So far, it looks like the comeback is working slowly but surely, as it's a welcome sight to see the former James Bond actor taking up arms and defending the innocent once more. It's a shame this film will more than likely eschew any sort of comedic material for the majority of its run time, as the pair of Brosnan and Wilson cracking wise sounds like something that's worth admission alone
Of course, for every positive this project has to its credit, there is one particular drawback that makes this film a rather worrisome prospect: it's directed by John Erick Dowdle, the same man who brought us films such as Quarantine, Devil, and As Above, So Below. With a track record of taking interesting concepts and adapting/remaking them into flat motion pictures, the sneaking suspicion that all of the best beats are located in the trailer is rising. While every film is an opportunity for a filmmaker to turn everything around, No Escape doesn't seem like the type of film that should be used as genre training wheels to an uninitiated director.
We'll see how successful No Escape is with its subject matter, as it seeks the shelter of a theater near you on September 2nd.
