No Escape appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The image seemed satisfactory.
Sharpness was usually strong. A few nighttime shots looked a little off, but those remained infrequent. The majority of the flick displayed concise, distinctive elements. I saw no jaggies or shimmering, and edge haloes failed to mar the image. Print flaws also didn’t appear.
In terms of palette, Escape favored a moderate orange/teal push. It kept these hues more subdued than many of its peers, though, so they didn’t overwhelm, and they came across with reasonably clarity. Blacks showed good depth and darkness, but shadows could be a bit dense, usually in those aforementioned night shots. Despite a few inconsistencies, the movie mostly provided appealing visuals.
I also felt happy with the solid DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Escape. As an action thriller, the film came with a good number of chances to use the soundscape, and it did well for itself. The mix offered gunfire, helicopters and other mayhem that showed up in logical spots. These elements meshed together well and created a lively soundfield.
Audio quality was also positive. Music sounded lively and full, while effects delivered accurate material. Those elements showed nice clarity and kick, with tight low-end. Speech was always distinctive and concise, too. This mix worked well for the film.
A few extras flesh out the set. We get an audio commentary from writer/director John Erick Dowdle and writer Drew Dowdle, both of whom sit together for a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, action and stunts, editing, cinematography, and music.
The brothers combine well and give us a satisfying look at the film. They mix movie facts with a few anecdotes to flesh out the elements in a useful manner. Despite a smattering of lulls, this usually becomes a likable, informative chat.
Two deleted scenes come next. We find “Hotel Morning” (3:10) and “Hammond’s Breakdown” (1:58). In “Morning”, Jack runs into Hammond before the rebellion and gets a veiled warning of problems to come. It adds a little exposition but seems unnecessary in the greater scheme of things.
“Breakdown” comes during one of the movie’s action scenes and shows more with Hammond’s efforts to deal with the rebellion. Other than an attempt to give Pierce Brosnan a little more screen time, it doesn’t contribute a lot.
We can view the scenes with or without commentary from John Erick Dowdle. He tells us aspects of the shots and lets us know why the sequences got the boot. Dowdle’s thoughts give us minor insights.
A Behind the Scenes Gallery shows 13 minutes, 40 seconds of interviews. We hear from Owen Wilson (2:56), Lake Bell (3:13), Pierce Brosnan (3:42), and the Dowdle brothers (3:49). In these, we get info about story/characters, cast and performances, stunts and action. A few decent nuggets emerge, but the clips mostly remain promotional in nature.
The disc opens with an ad for Southpaw. No trailer for Escape appears here.
A second disc offers a DVD copy of Escape. It provides the same extras as the Blu-ray.
With No Escape, we find a sporadically interesting action thriller. Though it comes with some exciting moments, it seems too erratic to really succeed. The Blu-ray offers good picture and audio along with a decent set of supplements. Mo Escape turns into an average action experience.