No Escape

Dreadful action-trash apparently made by people who have no feel for the genre whatsoever. They hoist out every bad cliché and make it worse. This isn't even good enough to qualify as a poor man's "Road Warrior" (no self-respecting poor man would claim it). I have no doubt that all the top action stars passed on this, and a good move it was too. How they picked Liotta I'll never guess. I like Liotta, and I think he's a good actor, but an action hero he's not. He simply doesn't have the presence, the look, or the star power. It doesn't help that they dress him in shapeless, drab costumes and give him very little heroic to do, not to mention that the dialogue is utterly without snap or sizzle (except for Stuart Wilson as the bad guy, who does a good job with the juiciest part, proving once again that bad guys are usually more interesting than good guys). Liotta mopes sullenly through the picture, looking more uncomfortable with each passing scene (probably as he becomes more aware of how bad the picture is). You almost feel badly for him. But he should stick to strong character roles, where that dark intensity can work to his advantage. He just isn't the leading man type. And the brains behind this film deserve scorn for trotting out the tired conventions without even attempting to add something new, and assuming that we would lap it up. Inexplicably, however, the picture is making money, so maybe they were right. (5/2/94)