No Way Out

Excellent thriller has the Defence Secretary (Gene Hackman) killing his mistress (Sean Young) not knowing that a man who works for him (Kevin Costner) was also with the woman and witnessed him entering her home shortly before the murder. NO WAY OUT is without question one of the very best thrillers of its era and no matter how many times you've seen it the film always manages to grab you in its grip and take you along for the ride.

This is one of those thrillers that keeps you on the edge of your seat and it really lives up to the title because throughout the entire film just more and more starts to pile up on the Costner character that you never know how he's going to get out of it. I thought the screenplay did a terrific job at making sure the film was always one step ahead of the viewer and this just gave us more suspense and especially since we know Costner is innocent and we don't see a way he can prove it.

It also helps that the performances are so wonderful with Costner and Hackman leading the way with two superb pieces of work. Young is also good in her short time on the screen as she perfectly handles the sexuality but she also makes us see and feel why Costner would fall for her. Will Patton is also terrific in his bit and you have to say he's one of the most memorable and slimy villains from the decade. The supporting cast includes good work from George Dzundza, Marshall Bell and Fred Thompson.

The film has many twists and turns and I'd say all of them work with the exception of a murder that happens towards the end. I'd say what happens to this character and who does the killing was a bit too far fetched for me but there's still no question that this is a powerful film and one that tends to be very underrated.