One Way Out (2002)

As Good As It Gets

Admirable film.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I have to admit i am a fan of James Belushi in his Comedic film roles, but he does a decent job in this thriller as top homicide detective Harry Woltz.Due to spiraling gambling debts he is forced into training a husband(Jason Bateman) who is treated badly by his rich wife, on how to commit the perfect murder without leaving any clues behind.Their are a good few plot twists to keep you interested to the end of the movie, but most are predictable to us as we have seen them in many other similar movies.Overall i would give the movie 6/10

"One Way Out" failed to separate itself from the crowd. There was nothing particularly brilliant or unique about this film. If it weren't for the names Belushi and Bateman I think this film would have zero credibility. There was a murder, the story went as it should, there was a twist, then there was justice. The acting wasn't much to rave about nor was the story itself. The movie kind of lulled along as you waited to see where the writer would try to show why his film made it to screen. There was never any intense drama, no strong relationships, and no believability. Every character seemed empty, and without any action or good dialogue, the movie just sputtered along until it ended. Because I didn't turn the movie off before it ended I didn't grade it a 4 or less.

First things first - let's lay out the dirty linen: I avoided this thing during normal waking hours, given the 'noir' log-line and the Jim Belushi principal. But between 3 and 5 am, this film was pure gold. Sometimes things just work out that way, especially if you miss the first 10-20 minutes, as I did; years of insomniac viewing have taught me that some beginnings are better missed than seen.Such was my approach to 'One Way Out' - and it paid off.How could I have expected Jim Belushi to pull off a Michael Chiklis-like transformation and play a corrupt cop, caught between a rock and a hard place? In fact, the performance is so compelling that it threw me off of the main arc of the plot: While the story may be a bit formulaic, Belushi's performance is a wonderful distraction - I didn't even see the denouement coming, until I was watching it on screen.In my opinion, this was a far, far better film than the Paltrow/Douglas/Mortenson vehicle of 'A Perfect Murder', as the actors here play against type, and triumph over the material.Highly recommended! Furthermore, Angela Featherstone, Jason Bateman and Guylaine St. Onge provide excellent support. Not a dull moment.While I'm not sure that I could recommend this film for viewing during the light of day, I *highly* recommend this movie for it's late night/early morning consumption. A qualified 8/10.

Ever since "Thief" Jim Belushi has been one of those names that draw me past the mediocre reviews to give the movie a chance. Here, Jim plays a morally bankrupt police Inspector who is forced to participate in planning a murder. Things go awry, and eventually he is pulled into the investigation. A couple of coincidences add to the plot complications, and events unravel from there. Except for the opening scene (I mean, how often does this ever happen, except all the time in the movies) this is a reasonable, unpretentious movie, not really a whodunnit in the classic sense, but develops such elements later on. The acting is pro forma, but not bad; the cliches are no worse than normal, and the ending was, to me at least, predictable without being telegraphed. For a low budget, filmed in Canada (Montreal) movie, it was OK. 7 of 10 for meeting expectations, 4 of 10 for general quality.