filmklassik Ordinary crime film masquerading as Cold War spy thriller. Costner plays an ambitious young Naval officer thrilled at the chance to be working for Defense Secretary Hackman. What Costner doesn't know is, Hackman is the sugar daddy of the woman he's been sleeping with - Sean Young. When Hackman kills Young in a fit of rage, he and his aide (Will Patton) cook up a plan: They'll float a story that Young was murdered by a legendary (and possibly non-existent) Soviet spy named Yuri who, rumor has it, has infiltrated the highest levels of D.C. power, and they'll put Costner in charge of flushing him out. When Costner's investigation proves fruitless (as it must), Young's death will go down as just another tragedy in the annals of Cold War intrigue.But things aren't what they seem...Fine acting by Hackman (of course), Costner and Patton can't overcome the ridiculous story contrivances, starting with Costner and Young going at it in the back of a limo less than 5 minutes after they meet. (Sorry, kids, but that simply doesn't happen in the real world).The dialogue is hit and miss. Sometimes it's witty - and sometimes you cringe:YOUNG: "Send me postcards from your exotic ports of call. That's what they call them, isn't it - exotic ports of call?"COSTNER: "A port's a port. You're exotic."There's a twist at the end that is 1) set up deftly and honestly in the early going, and 2) has absolutely nothing to do with the main mystery. The movie doesn't need it. Indeed, the novel this film is based on, "The Big Clock" by Kenneth Fearing, doesn't even have it, and it works just fine. 7 out of 10.

Leofwine_draca NO WAY OUT is a bit of an oddity. For the first hour or so, I watched this in complete indifference, waiting for the real 'plot' to begin. Watching Costner and Young sleeping together was repetitive and pretty dated, full of '80s tunes and cheesy scenes, like the one in the back of the limousine. Then Hackman's character sets the plot off for real, and suddenly I was hooked. I was behind Costner's character all the way, and I loved the way the scriptwriter trapped him within the imprisoning confines of the Pentagon, hunting for a wronged man whom he knew to be himself. I thought the suspense and twists played out very well. Often in suspense movies, writers are happy to throw out all the old clichés – such as the ticking bomb – but the computer recognition software really makes this film and gives it an edge over its competition.There was a sense of urgency that I rarely find elsewhere in the movies. My heart was pounding as Costner's plight became ever more deadly and how his enemies were gradually closing in. A COMMANDO-style action set-piece in a shopping mall threatens to destroy credibility, but then the suspense comes back stronger than ever, lasting right until the thrilling ending. Then we get an extra coda, one of those big 'twist' endings that throws the whole previous film on its head. I have to say that I disliked this twist. It didn't feel real, and it felt tacked-on as a last minute thing ("oh, wouldn't that be cool?"). To be honest, I would have preferred the film without it, but there we go.A strong cast delivers a fine script in this one. It's one of Costner's best movies, and Hackman's multi-layered villain is another solid entry in the actor's career. Will Patton is delightfully evil as the slimy aide. Other good characters are George Dzundza as Costner's wheelchair-bound buddy and Marshall Bell and Chris D as a couple of hulking hit men. NO WAY OUT is one of those films that doesn't have to have shoot-outs every five minutes to be exciting – in fact, the action scenes are few and far between, and I counted just a couple of them. No, here the urgency comes from the well-plotted situation the central character finds himself in – and it's a rare beast to find a film so enthralling because of that.

fahlstrom-161-771986 Kevin Costner's movies are seldom mediocre. The are sometimes terrible (Waterworld) and sometimes outstanding (Dances with Wolves). This is one of his better ones. The character he portrays is a navy officer on duty at the Pentagon. When a murder takes place he becomes a suspect and it's a race against time until he uncovers the real culprit or the massive computing power at the Department of Defense reconstructs a photo that ties him to the crime.It's a well done 'whodunit' with plenty of twists in the story line, a fine cast with Costner supported by Gene Hackman, a luscious Sean Young and Will Patton. This doesn't rise to a level 10 but it's well worth watching and quite realistic.

blantyrekelly Saw No Way Out the other night for the first time in over 20 years. It happened to be on TV and my wife, who has never seen it, and I decided to sit down and watch it after I told how good it was.For the first 15/20 minutes I wondered if I had been remembering the same film. Those first 15 minutes or so make you think that you are watching some straight to video 1980's cheap thriller. But once you get past that first wee while, it kicks in and you get swept along with it.There is the twist, and as others have suggested, it does seem a bit rushed. It's as if they didn't quite know how to end the film or ran out of time and/or money.Costner, Hackman and Young give good performances. The likes of George Dzundza and Fred Dalton Thompson give their usual solid support. Will Patton does tend to over do it slightly.Never the less, if you haven't seen it, and want a decent thriller to pass a couple of hours, you could do a lot worse than catch No Way Out.