The Peacemaker (1997)
A movie review by Michael J. Legeros
Copyright 1997 by Michael J. Legeros
(Dreamworks) Directed by Mimi Leder Written by Michael Schiffer Cast George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Marcel Iures, Gary Werntz, Holt McCallany, Alexander Baluev, Rene Medvesek, Michael Boatman, Armin Mueller-Stahl MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for profanity and violence) Running Time 123 minutes Reviewed at General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh NC (24SEP97)
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The first film from Dreamworks SKG-- you know, that studio from those guys-- is, well, one, long chase scene. Nicole Kidman and George Clooney go through the requisite motions as a pair of nuclear weapons experts, trotting the globe in search of stolen Russian warheads, one of which ends up in a Bosnian backpack, bound for the Big Apple. Kidman, as a brunette (!) and looking all of 23 years old, plays the presiden- tial adviser who's in charge, while Clooney bobs along as a Special Forces officer who pretends she isn't. And while neither delivers the star performance that's expected, they do have enough chemistry to keep their scenes interesting. (Just ignore their idiotic repartee at the outset. Once people begin to die around them, they shut up and get ser- ious. And, believe it or not, actually grieve.)
More importantly, both are able to stay in step with director Mimi Leder's relentlessly brisk pacing. This is a movie that *moves*, man, and isn't afraid to sacrifice such trivialities as character develop- ment, plot complexity, or humor. (The grim business of counter-terror- ism is periodically lightened-- a "Baywatch" joke here, an American Online gag there.) At least the action is terrific. Four superbly staged sequences are the real reasons to plop down $6.50: the nighttime hijacking of a moving choo choo, a car chase/demolition derby/Mercedes Benz product plug, a helicopter attack on a truckload of bad guys, and, the grand finale, where every available agency converges on a handful of Manhattan city blocks during rush hour. It's chaos of the finest order, marred only by a Dreaded Flashback to the villain's past. And, of course, the LOL realization that the bomb's ten-minute timer has been ticking for, oh, at least twenty minutes. Heh.
Grade: B-
-- Mike Legeros - Movie Hell http://www.nonvirtual.com/hell/
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