NO WAY OUT
A film review by Robert Mee
Copyright 1987 USENET
NO WAY OUT was billed as a suspense thriller along the lines of Hitchcock. Let's take a look at the dramatic elements:
Action? Yes, there's plenty of action: chase scenes in cars, trains, and on foot and one that is predominantly horizontal.
Suspense? Sure. There's a fair amount of suspense.
Intrigue? Yes. Although not a lot.
Acting?!?! Forget it! There are so *many* actors involved and so much action (I guess simple movement qualifies) that there isn't any time for acting. Although there are a few exceptions:
Will Patton plays the part of Gene Hackman's aide. His character appears to be the most rounded, or at least the most intense. His performance will get some Hollywood heads turning. He may (should) get an Oscar nomination.
Kevin Costner plays the lead as a naval officer who performs a heroic deed and subsequently gets involved with the Secretary of Defense. The only segment of his acting that was valuable was when he found out about his girlfriend's death. Costner's performance in THE UNTOUCHABLES was far more dynamic. We will no doubt be seeing more of him. We hope he will be screening any future scripts more carefully.
Sean Young delivers interesting insight to the term "Washington Socialite." A very provocative role. Unfortunately, Susan appears to have majored in "vaginal gymnastics" at junior college.
Gene Hackman has taken on a role that hardly suits his capabilities. His horror of killing Susan was the only portion of his role that stands out.
Howard Duff had a very insignificant role. His was almost as empty as Gene Hackman's except Gene had 10 times as much camera time.
The problem here is that writing has failed some very capable actors. Action (movement) has taken over the movie. There was a lot of role-playing, but very little in character development. Plot has suffered due to logistical error. Here are some examples: A door-to-door search for the elusive bad guy in the largest building in the world. Oh...that ought to take a few weeks. How about this? The Secretary's aide (who is gay and is in love with the secretary) hears the secretary (right in front of him) decide to betray the aide as the murderer of the secretary's girlfriend. What does the aide do? He shoots himself! It seems to me that if one is about to be betrayed by someone as omnipotent as the Secretary of Defense, has a gun in possession, and is within range that he would shoot the secretary. Worst of all, why is it that a man who is paid cash for the use of a boat is found as a witness and yet they never question the secretary's limo driver? The limo driver would have ended the movie before the first 60 boring minutes would have ended. I give this one 1+1/2 *
Robert Mee Boston University Information Technology (Voice: 353-2089)
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