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Viewed atManchester Showcase Cinemas.
Telephone 0161 220 8765 for programme information
- Cert: 15
- Running time: 123 minutes
- Year: 1997
- Released: 24th October 1997
- Widescreen Ratio : 2.35:1
- Rating: 7/10
Director:
- Mimi Leder
(Deep Impact, “E.R.”)
Producers:
- Andrew Cockburn, Leslie Cockburn and Pat Kehoe
Screenplay:
- Andrew Cockburn and Leslie Cockburn
Original Score :
- Hans Zimmer (Crimson Tide, The Rock)
Cast :
- Thomas Devoe: George Clooney (Batman and Robin, One Fine Day, From Dusk Till Dawn)
Julia Kelly: Nicole Kidman (Far and Away, Days of Thunder, To Die For)
Dusan Gavrich: Marcel Iures
Alexsander Kodoroff: Alexander Baluyev
Dimitri Vertikoff: Armin Mueller-Stahl
Ten nuclear devices have been stolen by the Russians in an operation ledby the evil Alexsander Kodoroff. In an attempt to throw any investigators offthe scent, they place one on a train full of Russian soldiers going acrossthe country, and straight into the path of another train. As those left aliveon the second train stagger off, there’s only a delay of a few minutes beforethe device explodes making mincemeat of the passengers and the Russian farmingcouple who get out of bed to see the state of the damage on the track.
Nicole Kidman plays Dr. Julia Kelly, who is in charge of an operationalteam to track down who’s behind the bomb and find a way to track them down andstop them detonating another one, although why would they detonate one in thefirst place when they can sell for $200 million apiece?
George Clooney is her military liaison officer, Thomas Devoe, whothrows in his opinions on the crisis more loudly than anyone else’s, and it’snot long before the two head off together to have a word, so to speak, withthe man who sold a truck to Kodoroff and is using it to escape across theIranian border with the remaining nine nuclear devices. As the film progresses,there soon becomes one left, and a Bosnian activist, masquering in his hometown as a piano teacher is bringing it to the United States of America…
George Clooney has now found his way into the A-list of Hollywood followinghis other recent successes after being brought to the fore by the televisionseries, E.R. which started a third run on Sky television recently.The role isn’t one that demands a great deal of acting talent, but Clooneyis the type of star who can carry such a film to its eventual conclusion,while providing the swoon-interest for the girls watching.
It’s notable that this is the first big film in which Clooney’s name hasappeared first in the credits. In From Dusk Till Dawn he played secondfiddle to Harvey Keitel; in One Fine Day, his name appeared afterthat of Michelle Pfeiffer, and Arnold Schwarzenegger topped thebill in the summer blockbuster, Batman and Robin.
Nicole Kidman puts in a reasonable performance in this film. I’m not aparticular fan of hers, but I was not sitting waiting for her to move offthe screen, so she must have done well. However, I can’t quite see anyAustralian model-turned-actress taking on a job which would involve life ordeath decisions such as those she makes in the film, but then again this isHollywood.
This is the first major studio film for its director, Mimi Leder whocut her teeth on a number of TV movies, plus episodes of E.R., andshe certainly makes a successful job of keeping the film going inbetween theaction set-pieces, which include a car smash-up in Vienna as Clooney attemptsto exact revenge on the bad guys who offed his best friend, Dimitri, playedby Armin Mueller-Stahl, and a three-strong helicopter attack on thetruck driven by Kodoroff heading for the Iranian border.
This is also a first for the film company, Dreamworks SKG, headed bySteven Spielberg, who are hoping for a mega-success.
Mimi Leder’s next film will be Deep Impact also released by DreamworksSKG, and with an impressive cast including James Cromwell, Denise Crosby,Robert Duvall, Morgan Freeman and Tea Leoni, and another music score fromHans Zimmer.
Overall, this is a film that comes recommended, although in essence, there’snot a lot we’ve not seen before, but it’s a good shot for Mimi Leder who alsohas an interesting visual style which occasionally makes the most of the 2.35:1widescreen frame, so after you’ve seen this at the cinema, and want to buy thevideo when it comes out in twelve months, make sure it’s widescreen.
There’s a lot riding on this film, it being the first for the productioncompany, and in my opinion it comes off as successful as the average actioner.
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1997.
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.