No Way Out Review
This suspense thriller lulls the viewer into a deceptive slumber for its first half but when the plot thickens it jumps to life and plays reasoanbly well. Despite mid-80s cut-rate production values, the plot is tightly woven and makes for pretty good suspense. Set in Washington, D.C., the world's conspiracy capital, this Kevin_Costner vehicle relies heavily on political intrigue and a phony spy hunt, but its import is compromised by a contrived and '80s time-locked plot, a suspect cast, and dialogue that is just plain laughable in places. Costner's performance is characteristically bland and Sean_Young is typically flighty, but Gene_Hackman pulls off a solid supporting role. The film is almost completely devoid of subtext save a few Big Brother references. However, it benefits from a stellar build-up in suspense that nicely shatters any sense of pristine complacency, as well as the use of classic tilted framing technique just prior to the climactic scene. Additionally, Roger_Donaldson's understated direction does make for a couple of very memorable scenes. Certainly, there are better films within the suspense genre but this one quite possibly paved the way for the John_Grisham screen adaptations of the early-to-mid-90s and helped propel Kevin_Costner into super-stardom. Mike DiBella, Rovi
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