New York Times
"...NO WAY OUT has the exuberance of something freshly conceived....An expert cast headed by Kevin Costner..." 08/14/1987 p.C3Variety
"...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
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