Oh man, No Way Out was the cause of a theater audience act of civil disobedience when I saw it in the theater. The first new "multiplex" opened in the area -- back then, everyone was all "14 theaters? what the shit?" -- so my Dad, sister and I thought we'd check it out, No Way Out being the flick of choice.
And then the film broke, right after -- big-ass spoiler, seriously, don't read if you haven't seen this yet --
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Costner said his first line in Russian.
Yep, that last minute of the film. And I mean RIGHT after. Snap, black, lights up. The audience EXPLODED. And no one was going to leave. Uh uh. We needed full closure. The manager tried to explain to us that there was really only a minute left in the movie, that film reels can't simply be rewound, and (after 15-20 minutes had gone by without anyone getting up to leave) that there was another showing right behind ours, waiting to get in... That got some boos. One man took it on himself to represent The People in negotiations with The Multiplex, which took place in the concourse. He returned eventually and asked us if, collectively, we would prefer free passes or our cash back. In unison the theater erupted "CASH BACK." The manager standing there was soaked in sweat.
Eventually, they restarted the movie again, about a half hour after the film broke, from the final reel, right about when Will Patton meets George Dzundza in the gym. When we got to that final scene with the twist, everyone held their breath, then let out a collective sigh as the rest of it played out. The showing after us probably had their movie start an hour late. That manager probably had the worst night of his working life, and my family all agreed that this faceless, soulless "multiplex" concept just wasn't going to last. /singletear.
