If The Rundown would have been more appropriately titled Midnight Rundown, then I guess No Way Out of Time might have been a better title for this new thriller starring Denzel Washington, for much of it is very reminiscent of a terrific 80's thriller starring Kevin Costner.

In Out of Time, Washington plays a flawed but dedicated police officer in a small Florida town who gets in over his head when he decides to give financial help to his mistress. This sets off a chain of unfortunate events that puts Washington in the hot seat, implicating him in an investigation that's taking place in his own department.

Out of Time was directed by Carl Franklin who made two great noir thrillers (One False Move and Devil in a Blue Dress) and the Meryl Streep vehicle (One True Thing) before delving into mediocre commercial fare (High Crimes). While Out of Time isn't a great movie, it is much more intriguing than High Crimes thanks to Washington, and some well conceived pot boiler sequences in which Washington desperately tries to stay a step ahead of his own department, hot on his heals.

The problem is, these scenes really don't add up to much because the film's big revelation isn't much of a surprise. In fact, there really aren't many surprises in Out of Time at all. Still, Franklin does prove to be skilled when it comes to delivering tension, and once again, the ace up his sleeve is his lead actor.

Washington is quite good as a flawed lawman who quickly learns that infidelity doesn't pay. I also enjoyed Dean Cain creeping it up as an abusive husband. Through it all, I forgot that this is the same guy that played Superman on The Adventures of Lois and Clark. He does the same sort of thing here that Keanu Reeves did in Sam Rami's The Gift. Sadly, the rest of the cast is sub par. John Billingsley tries, but fails to be convincing as the character that everyone thinks isn't bright, but ultimately aids our hero on his quest to prove his innocence. Eva Mendes (2 Fast 2 Furious) is beautiful and tough, but in the end, I didn't buy her as a police officer. Sanna Lathan plays the mistress, and save for a few vulnerable moments, there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy or memorable about her character or performance.

Out of Time really falters because of a poorly written screenplay. Most of the movie is predictable, and for the story to really grab hold, you need to believe in the relationship between Washington and Lathan. I didn't buy into it. Of course this is a thriller, so going in, we know some double crosses are in store, I only wish some of these painfully obvious surprises were more...surprising.

Yes, Out of Time has a few intense sequences and yes, it does have the dependable Washington, but sadly it doesn't add up to a memorable event. If you want to see a similar thriller that really delivers, rent No Way Out instead.