No Way Out (1987)

"A tightly wound and engrossing thriller.  The Hollywood Reporter
"No Way Out... continually ups the ante...  Desson Howe, Washington Post
"Taut melodramatic thriller...  Leonard Maltin

Editor's Note In this taut remake of "The Big Clock," a Naval intelligence officer assigned to investigate a murder is horrified to find out that the victim is his girlfriend - and that he's being framed as the prime suspect.

	Kevin Costner
	Gene Hackman
	Sean Young
	Will Patton
	Kenneth Fearing - Based on Novel By
	Roger Donaldson - Director
	Mace Neufeld - Executive Producer
	Maurice Jarre - Musical Score
	Roger Garland - Producer
	Robert Garland - Screenplay

Thriller in which a naval commander begins dating an alluring woman who happens to be the girlfriend of his boss (the Secretary of Defense). When the woman is murdered, the Secretary assigns the task of tracking down the killer to the military officer -- who promptly becomes the main suspect. New York Times
"...NO WAY OUT has the exuberance of something freshly conceived....An expert cast headed by Kevin Costner..." 08/14/1987 p.C3

Variety
"...An effective updating and revamping of the 1948 film noir classic THE BIG CLOCK....With razor-sharp, fluid lensing..." 08/12/1987

Los Angeles Times
"...[A] cracklingly fine thriller....NO WAY OUT's greatest prize is Costner, a leading man at last: fiercely good, intelligent, appreciatively sensual in a performance balanced between action and introspection..." 08/14/1987 p.C1

Total Film
"...Gripping....This is an intricately plotted cat-and-mouse affair with a killer twist..." 11/01/2000 p.118

USA Today
"Sean Young is unforgettable..." 11/16/2004 p.5D

Washington Post 8 of 10
Emotions overrule good sense in Roger Donaldson's No Way Out. The film makes such good use of Washington and builds suspense so well that it transcends a plot bordering on ridiculous. The Pentagon is the arena. Kevin Costner, in his best performance so far, plays Lt. Cdr. Tom Farrell, a naval officer assigned to newly appointed Secretary of Defense David Brice (Gene Hackman). It's a dream assignment -- a high-profile job within commuting distance of a steamy Washington affair he has just started. But he gets caught up in a double-edged mission that threatens everything. Screenwriter Robert Garland marries detective pulp with the sophisticated high intrigue of such Washington-based dramas as All The President's Men and Three Days of the Condor. There's a mysterious woman (Sean Young), a man in love with her (Kevin Costner), and a murder. Then Donaldson lays in all the local landmarks -- unseen forces behind bureaucratic walls; ambitious, unscrupulous officials; and, of course, clandestine sex... The strength of No Way Out is in the way it continually ups the ante, Hitchcock-style. Complications beget complications. People stand to lose something all the time. And just about everyone's got a dark side... The acting roles are limited; the characters are pawns in [Roger] Donaldson's and Garland's game of intrigue and deceit (Deceit was actually the film's original title). Nevertheless, Costner is forceful and energetic as Farrell, with a steely-eyed intensity that gives dimension to his football-captain good looks. Sean Young, who was the replicant object of Harrison Ford's affections in Blade Runner, plays Atwell with a lithe, spacey sex appeal. Hackman, possibly Hollywood's most consistent performer, does what he can. And Will Patton plays Hackman's sidekick, Scott Pritchard, with one-note but memorable maliciousness. - Desson Howe