No Way Out (1987, dir. Roger Donaldson)

No Way Out (1987, dir. Roger Donaldson)

What Is It?: An espionage thriller starring rising star Kevin Costner when his shtick was still refreshing and engaging and people called him a young Gary Cooper without groaning.

What About It?: A remake of the noir classic The Big Clock, starring Ray Milland, but with a contemporary (to 1987) Cold War-era plot directed with muscular verve by the go-to government thriller guy, Roger Donaldson (The OK White Sands, the pretty good Thirteen Days, and the ludicrous The Recruit). The twisty spy thriller starts out with a fairly standard, and none-too-interesting love story between Costner and flavor-of-the-mid-80's starlet Sean Young. Once that's out of the way, and the second act begins with a satisfying bang, it's solid stuff the rest of the way.

Why Should I See It?: Great supporting performances from the great Gene Hackman to a break-out creepy performance from Will Patton. The Lost Classic thinks that Patton is, himself, a lost classic, and feels bad that he's not an A-List baddie to this day. Too bad, but he is terrific here.

What Else Is It Like?: Mission: Impossible, Enemy of the State, A Perfect Spy.

When Is It Playing Until ON DEMAND?: 1/31/07

Watch It ON DEMAND On Comcast Cable.

-- ddt/pdx