User reviews

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

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.

decent flick. Definitely better than i thought it would be. however there is one moment in the film that supremely creeped me out. There's a moment where the prison warden is reading the rap sheet of capt. Robbins (Ray Liotta), that includes some of his special forces history. He reads off saying something like "oh so you were in Libya Behngazi, in 2011?" Very creepy for a movie made in 94, given whats gone in in Libya, Behngazi and that its happened in 2011. Also the fact that like Capt. Robbins, in in the American special forces, recently 6 soldiers working for British special forces were captured and deported in Behngazi Libya.

That was the biggest WTF moment in the movie for me lol.

Overall though not a bad flick. Would have been disappointed if I dropped a few bucks on it in theatres, but i saw it cheaply in netflix and it was worth it. check it out!

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

Take some pretty good actors, Ray Liotta, Stuart Wilson, Lance Henrekson, Michael Lerner, among others, and put them in an exciting no escape prison situation. That along with a script that keeps the high level of excitement going for a full 118 minutes, and you have a winning combination. Special mention must be made of the excellent Australian location, and the great sets and costumes. Ray Liotta is thrown into the middle of two warring factions, while his only objective is to escape from Michael Lerner's futuristic island prison. Zero women, zero romantic distractions, "No Escape" is 100% action, and exceeds expectations. - MERK

I saw this in the theatre when it came out and loved it then, still enjoy now after all these years. It is like a Lethal Weapon but for prisoners on a deserted island. It is not Oscar worthy, but it is still enjoyable to watch if you can find it.

I have not been able to find this one for years, pretty much since Blockbuster went belly up back in the day. If you are in the mood for a decent action flick you can veg out to, you can't go wrong.

As another review mentioned, there is some intense irony in the fact he is charged with murdering his commanding officer for ordering him to kill innocent civilians, in Benghazi, Lybia...in 2011! Being a veteran myself, I can imagine vigilante thoughts have gone through many heads over the real Benghazi...alas, that would be wrong...but it is not illegal to think it! (Snowflake disclaimer: Please, do not get any ideas I advocate vigilantism or murder, I do not).

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

ReWhatched yesterday after the announce of Ray Liotta's death. :/ Pretty good SF movie, still hold today with great cast.

Sure it is not at $100M movie but it entertains and has good mix of seriousness and humor.

Ironically, Ray passed away in 2022 which is the timeline of Absolom universe and it's also his movie as the main star.

In the year 2022, the penal system is run completely by corporations with prisoners sent to isolated prisons sequestered from society. Former soldier, Robbins (Ray Liotta) is sentence to such a prison after he kills his commanding officer and having since escaped two lower security prisons. When Robbins flagrantly disobeys the orders of the Warden (Michael Lerner), Robbins is sent to the island of Absolom which is feared even more than the prison and consists of savage untamed wilderness where the prisoners fight amongst themselves with the only rule being "might makes right". Robbins soon finds himself between two groups on the island, the savage and sadistic Outsiders ruled over by Walter Marek (Stuart Wilson), and the peaceful and benevolent Insiders ruled over by The Father (Lance Henriksen).

No Escape aka Escape from Absolom is an adaptation of the novel The Penal Colony by Richard Herley. The film was the third American Film for Kiwi/British director Martin Campbell following Criminal Law and Defenseless and was released a year before Campbell's career skyrocketed with the release of the first Brosnan fronted Bond film Goldeneye. Positioned by short lived indie distributor Savoy Pictures as a major Summer release including commercial tie-ins with a SNES and Genesis video game and a three issue comic series from Marvel Comics, the movie did open at the top of the box office, but didn't have much in the way of staying power and quickly fell from the top earners in the coming weeks facing off against films like Four Weddings and a Funeral, With Honors, and Brandon Lee's posthumously released The Crow. The movie received mixed reviews from critics pointing out the familiarity of the film to other previous films like Escape from New York, Mad Max, or various prison films but on a strictly action oriented level there's solid entertainment value on display.

From a purely technical perspective, No Escape looks great. From the sterile and harsh futuristic aesthetics we initially see of the world to the lush jungle environments filled with savage marauders, the movie feels like a fully realized world of this land that's out of time and out of place where the world's criminal rejects are living in a primitive state of tribal societies and warfare. Admittedly it's very standard dystopian future stakes with the setup of the villainous Outsiders versus the more morally righteous (by comparison) Insiders more or less the same setup we saw in Mad Max: The Road Warrior albeit with the added external element of The Warden, but it's a solid enough setup for action packed futuristic nonsense. The societies of the Insiders and the Outsiders are visually distinct and have some nicely designed sets and culture building with some particularly amusing points coming from Kevin J. O'Connor as the Insiders' salvage expert who has an amusing bit of laying claim to Robbins' boots should he die, or the always reliable Lance Henriksen as the leader of the Insiders. The movie's also quite unique in how it envisions this prison society with only men unlike Escape from New York which just threw in every criminal together and it makes for an interesting approach to this type of material that creates unique dynamics.

One of the drawbacks however is the fact that the movie is cobbled together from familiar parts so you definitely do find yourself remembering what elements of No Escape you saw elsewhere previously. The movie's also too long for the type of movie it is clocking in at just under 2 hours and I did feel there were several moments in the middle of the movie that dragged because while Campbell attempts to create character and a sense of culture to this island prison, the characters and culture aren't all that interesting beneath the aesthetics. Liotta is okay as our lead Robbins though his redemption arc kind of robs him of the mystique you look for in this type of character like you saw in someone like Snake Plissken from Escape from New York. The movie delivers on the action with solid practical effects and some impactful and creative action sequences, but the parts between them drag and just don't have the character or substance needed to sustain the wait between sequences.

There's ambition with No Escape and despite only coting $20 million it looks on par with something more expensive like Waterworld, but it also isn't interesting or substantial enough to justify its 2 hour runtime or avoid comparisons to prior movies of this ilk. It's a decent enough time killer on its own and you'll get some solid action and kill sequences, but you need to sit through some dead space to get to the good parts.

'No Escape' aka 'Escape From Absolom' is a 1994 venture into prisons run by corporations and all about profit. It's a theme that's been done in other films, but not this exact same way. Prisoners who can't be rehabilitated are sent to this island in the middle of nowhere with almost no chance of escape.

Newly arrived ex-military man Robbins (Liotta) quickly learns about the two factions. The obvious evil group of criminals who would fit right at home in a Mad Max sequel with Marek (Stuart Wilson) as their pseudo leader. Violent, dirty, dark costumes, etc. Then there's the Insiders. A more peaceful group of cons who are massively outnumbered and lead by Father (Lance Henriksen). They try to live a normal existence of necessary tasks and defense from their foes.

It's primarily an action flick - with an emphasis on hand to hand combat - but also the regulatory prison-break yarn (especially for Liotta). Really a case in what you see is what you get. Hero Robbins isn't a hard guy to route for or understand, but he's one note (like most of the pic). Few unnecessary stunts he pulls I guess to show how fearless, cool or tough he is.

He goes through most of the story having perfected the thousand mile stare too. Marek is a decent bad guy with some evil flair, but isn't new territory. Father (Henriksen) provides a moral compass while a bunch of familiar faces in the cast - Ernie Hudson, Kevin Dillon, Kevin J. O'Connor and Michael Lerner - provide color or cliché moments.

'No Escape' works on a very basic level. It's fun, certainly made well. Nice production values. However it doesn't have anything new to say. Everything felt like it was going through the motions. Fellow fans of Liotta or Henriksen will be satisfied though.

Okay I know it's from 1994 but that is still not a reason to make No Escape look like it is a very good movie. It might have been entertaining in that time but I honestly think it didn't age well. The acting is not great at all, sometimes even ridiculous. For example how Lance Henriksen faints at the end is really bad acting. And there are a lot of passages like that. The story itself started promising but soon it's going downhill with impossible or ridiculous things happening on the deserted island. How the hell do they have car carcasses or even gasoline on an island that never saw a road before? It's just those little things that make it stupid. If you like movies in the style of Mad Max then you might enjoy this movie, even though Mad Max is thousand ways better.

'No Escape' is a B-movie. Fact. It has B-movie written all over it. And that's no bad thing. It never really tries to be anything else. It's about a futuristic world where prisoners are big business for corporations. Unless they don't work. Then they get shipped off to this out of the way island where they can kill each other as much as they like.

One such prisoner is Ray Liotta. He may be a convicted murderer, but he did it for just motives, therefore we can root for him. And he bands together with a load of equally supportable prisoners on the island, compared to the other lot – who are basically barbarians. Thus we have our movie – the 'good' (well, just) prisoners, fighting off the 'bad' prisoners on a little island paradise.

Our boy Ray's helped out by a variety of other B-movie actors. You'll recognise him from what's-it-called and that bloke out of Aliens, plus the Ghostbuster who joined last. Anyway, it doesn't matter. It's a fun film with plenty of action and rolls along nicely, helped no small part by the baddie. He's great fun – naturally psychotic, but great fun. In than annals of B-movie baddies, Stuart Wilson deserves a mention – sometimes camp, always bonkers and ready to slaughter anyone just to keep control of the psychos under him.

Despite its 'B-movie' status, it's actually a little longer than your average 'straight to DVD' flick. Yet it never seems to drag. Basically, if you like action, B-movies with a touch of sci-fi and want something to eat popcorn to, give this one a try. You can pick it up pretty cheaply or even stream it from many a website.

Plus, is it just me, or are all the computer terminals straight out of 'Aliens?' It's like No Escape is set in the same universe.

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 *****

I've seen this film many times over the years, as it has great re watch value. It is actually surprisingly good for a reasonably unheard of movie, and would be fair to say this is one of those gems your lucky to find.

John Robbins (Liotta) is a decorated marine sent to a ultra strict maximum security prison for killing his superior officer. He does not stay there for long however, as he is banished to 'Absolum' a monitored island in a guarded stretch of water. Here, prisoners are no longer really prisoners, as there are no rules, no bars, no guards, just you and them. By them I mean "the outsiders", a bunch of savages desperately struggling for survival under the leadership of the vicious dread-locked Walter Marrik (Wilson).

Then there are "the insiders", a society of former and somewhat rehabilitated inmates who live a peaceful and structured life, in a makeshift but well guarded fortress. They live under rules and respect each other, unlike the feral outsiders who have no code of honour.

Classic lines, likable characters and solid action make this a film in its own right. The film boasts many good combat/battle scenes, and the gripping feel of the film sets in early and stays till the end.

This one was really surprising. I had forgotten it existed until it popped up on a underrated sci fi movie list. This movie works on so many levels.

You can tell there was a budget for this thing and the crew did an excellent job working with what they had. There are some decent action with splosions and even some epic storming the castle type scenes with tons of extras.

Ray Liotta is great as a soldier gone rogue type. All the characters are defined enough that you want to see what happens to them. The bad guy is GREAT and they give him enough screen time to really want to see him meet his end.

This turned out to be much more touching than I thought it would be. I would recommend to anyone who likes sci fi, Ray Liotta or prison movies.

An action-packed b-movie that takes itself way too seriously, which is what makes NO ESCAPE great fun as Ray Liotta's only in an actual futuristic Fascist-future prison for a brief time, ironic since it's a prison-genre flick that takes place on a penal island like PAPILLON following the do-or-die rules and ragged costume design of THE ROAD WARRIOR...

Genuinely cool and fit, Liotta is, of course, the toughest and strongest and a completely handy stranger in a fortress world run by a passive yet formidable Lance Henriksen, polar opposite of British actor Stuart Wilson ruling the woodsy outskirts, whose insanely overboard, monologue-spouting dictator makes Dennis Hopper's WATERWORLD performance seem tame (and all but drowns out the prison's computer-monitor-monitoring warden Michael Lerner)...

Barking orders at his natives while making threatening jokes like a sarcastic game show host at an unflinching Liotta in one of the post GOODFELLAS leading roles, maybe the reason why Liotta never became a really huge star, here in what almost resembles a Straight-to-Video flick...

Which really isn't such a bad thing since, for better or worse, you'll wanna stick around to find out if the film's title is really true: because the one thing the director's able to convey is that Liotta... alongside dependable sidekick Ernie Hudson, token doomed naive kid Kevin Dillon, token offbeat favor-man Kevin J. O'Connor and shifty turncoat Ian McNiece... are genuinely stuck in one helluva pickle.

Please note - This film has also been known as "No Escape" or "Escape From Absolom" in selected Countries.

Set in the year 2022 (so a couple of years from now...) our film follows former Captain J.T Robbins (Ray Liotta) who is sentenced to prison. Robbins has been sentenced for assassinating his own commanding officer (his reason for committing the crime are unknown until the film goes on). While in prison, Robbins is pushed in the wrong direction which causes the prison warden to send Robbins somewhere far worse. Robbins is then sent out via a helicopter to an unknown island known as "Absolom".

You see, Absolom isn't just another prison. It's an island where the most dangerous criminals are free to roam around and only the strongest men survive. Can Robbins stay alive and more importantly can Robbins find a way to escape Absolom and be free once and for all?

To my surprise, this film was directed by Martin Campbell who would later direct such popular films such as James Bond Goldeneye and Casino Royale.

Robbins as a leading character is enjoyable and it's a surprising performance from actor Ray Liotta. Based on the films I've ever seen of Ray Liotta in, he's normally playing a villain or a terrible person. Here, I personally enjoyed seeing him be the leading hero with many skills that are believable throughout the film. He's dangerous and a leader, but he's also mysterious. The film does a great job at setting up his character and has the audience members questioning why he killed his Commanding officer at the beginning of the film. Is he a good guy or does he actually deserve to be in prison? Thankfully our film is gracious enough to reveal answers to all its questions.

Ray Liotta isn't the only one with a good performance here. I also enjoyed the film's villain, Marek (Stuart Wilson). Marek is the leader of a dangerous group known as "The Outsiders" and orders around the most savage criminals on Absolom. It's obvious that the actor enjoyed playing this role and he also manages to bring some fun light humour to the film. It's never over the top- it's just enough. It's also fun to see Marek and Robbins interact with one another as the film progresses to a final showdown. Other than our hero and villain, some of the film's side characters play a weaker role in the film's story. One such character in particular is the scrape collector. While I understand side characters are needed, sometimes they are just given too much screen time only to repeat the same actions or material over and over.

While watching this film I found myself appreciating the sets as well as the general scenery and gorgeous background shots. After the film I did some research and according to IMDB, the location for filming was North Queensland, Australia (Awesome!).

Overall, this is an enjoyable blast from the 90s. Escape From Absolom brings some new and some similar things to the screen. It's also exciting to see actor Ray Liotta take on a different role, such as a leading action hero. The film's audio track is a solid compliment. In the end, I can't deny that this is a fun flick from the 90s despite some issues I have with the film.

6.2/10 Walkden Entertainment

I have seen the 1994 movie "No Escape" once before around the time when it was just released. But I have to be honest and say that I could remember absolutely nothing from the movie aside from its cover. So as I had the opportunity to sit down and watch the movie again here in 2022, of course I did so.

Writers Michael Gaylin and Joel Gross didn't exactly put together an incredible storyline here, especially since it was so difficult to buy into the setting and take the whole thing seriously. Yeah, "No Escape" was a sort of watchable enough movie for the cheesy movie that it was, but you're not in for a grand cinematic experience here.

Something that did work out well enough in favor of director Martin Campbell's 1994 movie was the cast ensemble. There are some pretty good actors on the cast list, with the likes of Ray Liotta, Lance Henriksen, Kevin Dillo, Kevin J. O'Connor, Jack Shepherd, Ernie Hudson, Ian McNeice and Michael Lerner.

I doubt that I will ever return to watch "No Escape" another time, because the movie was a rather corny and cheesy movie actually. If you think "Braveheart" meets "Mad Max", then you have the strange hybrid that "No Escape" sort of resembled and felt like.

My rating of "No Escape" lands on a four out of ten stars.

This is a semi-expensive Film with a B-Movie feel and it is better for it. The slickness is not done in an in your face manner as it just unfolds unpretentiously and is beautiful to behold. The costumes are also quite "attractive" and proudly display their "freak flags" high.

The story is somewhat simple and yet some of the complexities and Philosophy about corporate prisons and civilized society are lost in the action and some less than adequate script involvement. But not enough to keep this from being enjoyable escapism.

There are some well done, violent battles and some witticisms that are quite amusing. The villain is venomous and quite the psychopathic comedian. In all, this is quite entertaining stuff that never pretends to be more than it is. A kind of throw-back to Matinée fare of a by-gone era.

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

Martin Campbell is the kind of director who should know better, he made "Goldeneye" so why he ever gave us crap like "The mask of Zorro" or this pathetic "No escape" is beyond me. The problem is that this movie doesn't take their viewers in a serious way. They all let us believe that we are a sort of dummies and with a stupid SF=scenario we are put in some future in where prisons are privatised. As soon as Ray Liotta is taken as prisoner they realise that they won't be able to handle this ex-mariner and drop him in the woods at where he is delivered to the brute Outsiders, a sort of primitive tribe that can only be found in movies at where Kevin Costner is Robin Hood. Luckily enough Liotta found a new peaceful breed who try to build up some new society in where elements like love and peace still have their place. Are you still following? I guess not, but it is Lawrence's fault, not mine... The worst thing is that it sounds like some episode from The Ewoks (Star Wars-spin off, remember?) and that this sort of s*** has been filmed with a big budget. Straight to video of course and it is a real waste that a top actor like Ray Liotta is exploited for such crap.