The top 10 most-watched movies list on Netflix contains a rag-tag assortment of films: as well as Originals we often see box office flops, critically-maligned bombs and forgotten Oscar winners become some of the streamer's most viewed movies. But we don't often see films that have received bans!
That's the case right now, though, as the fifth most-watched movie on Netflix UK is No Escape, after being added on Wednesday, March 27. It sits below the recent Original The Beautiful Game at #1 and other non-Original additions The Bad Guys, Emily the Criminal and Glass at #2, #3 and #4 respectively.
In No Escape, Owen Wilson and Lake Bell star as American parents living in an unidentified south-east Asian country that's suddenly plunged into a massive coup — with the help of a British agent (played by Pierce Brosnan), they need to get out of the country along with their two daughters.
Wilson has dabbled in action movies before, but he's mainly known for his comedy roles, so seeing him play a gun-slinging father figure is a big change. It's the same case for Lake Bell, who's been in plenty of TV and movie dramas, though Pierce Brosnan has certainly played one or two British agents in his day...
The movie received mixed reviews but was a mild box office success... except in the one country where it was banned!
This country was Cambodia which banned the film after the trailer aired. This act was due to the police in the movie having Khmer script on their shields — Khmer is the official language of Cambodia (and, it should be noted, nowhere else), which seemingly suggested that the movie was actually about Cambodia.
No Escape was actually shot in Thailand and was also based on the writers' experiences there, however in order to be released in that country, the filmmakers were required to avoid identifying Thailand as the country in the movie. It seems that in trying to avoid offending one country, the movie succeeded in offending another!
So if you're not Cambodian (or Thai), is No Escape worth watching? Well according to Rotten Tomatoes... maybe? With a 48% critics' score and 62% audience score, just over half the people who've watched it enjoyed it. So if you like your action thriller B-movies, perhaps check it out, but if not give it a miss.
