(There‘s no way this chick is really a nuclear physicist. Where‘s her tank top, hot pants, and ridiculous name?)
CAST: George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Marcel Iures, Armin Mueller-Stahl.
DIRECTOR: Mimi Leder
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and one really low-maintenance terrorist straight ahead…
IT’S LIKE THIS: Someone decided to take the ”chasing-after-stolen-nuclear-bombs” subplot of THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH and turn it into a feature-length movie. Only the military commando hero here is not a British spy, and the nuclear scientist heroine does not wear tight tank tops and short shorts. And her name isn’t Dr. Christmas Jones. And she’s played by an actress who actually could pass for a nuclear scientist. No offense to Denise Richards…
THE DUDE (AND DUDETTE) MOST LIKELY TO SAVE THE DAY: Lt Col Tom DeVeau (George Clooney) and nuclear scientist Dr. Julia Kelly (Nicole Kidman), your average bickering-couple-who-really-have-the-hots-for-each-other. But, well, smarter and better-looking. They go into action when a Croat terrorist and his buddies hijack a Russian nuclear train and make off with several warheads. Good luck with that, Tom and Jules…
EYE CANDY MOST LIKELY TO FIRE UP A WOODY: Tie between Mr. Clooney and Ms. Kidman, whom I would have a threesome with any day. Georgie, Nic, if you’re reading this, I can be reached at the email above. Toodles.
MOST HAIR-RAISING SCENE: For me, it’s when we find out why our soulful baddie (Marcel Iures) wants to blow up the world so much. Let’s just say he’s no money-hungry Hans Gruber. More like Mr. Rogers… gone very, very bad.
HOTTEST SCENE: George Clooney smacking around a suspect and making him like it. Again I ask: do I need help?
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: Will Tom and Julia track down the terrorist and retrieve the warheads before its too late? What is the terrorist’s agenda, anyway? What does he plan to do with the warhead? Is Julia right when she says “I’m not worried about the terrorist who wants ten warheads - I’m worried about the one who only wants one”? How will Tom and Julia finally consummate their love/hate relationship if the world explodes. How, goddamnit, HOW?!?
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH “THE PEACEMAKER”: If you like intelligent, thoughtful, sleekly crafted action/thrillers that are not bogged down by cheesy one-liners or female characters with names of strippers. And if you have a serious jones for either George or Nicole.
WHY YOU MAY NOT ENJOY “THE PEACEMAKER”: If you like dumb, thoughtless, sloppily crafted action/thrillers with more cheesy one-liners or female characters with names of strippers than you can shake a cattleprod at. And if you detest George of Nicole.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Expertly combining characterization and action, while exploring deeper themes about loss, revenge, and the Serb-Croatian war, THE PEACEMAKER is a winner. We recently reviewed SPEED, another action film that started with a bang and pretty much didn’t let up until the end credits. Think of THE PEACEMAKER a more polished and mature version of that movie. George Clooney and Nicole Kidman are perfectly cast and lend their characters enough shading to keep them from being stereotypes. I especially like the scene where Julia reads the bios of the soldiers who were killed in a mission she authorized. She allows herself only a few moments to weep for these men she never met and whose deaths she indirectly caused - before steeling herself up to make another hard decision for the greater good. It’s these little pockets of humanity that director Mimi Leder incorporates into the fast-paced story that distinguish THE PEACEMAKER from other action films. Leder is also terrific at creating spectacular action set-pieces, and she would go on to effectively combine epic spectacle with intimate humanity again in DEEP IMPACT just a year or so later.
All in all, THE PEACEMAKER is an unsung classic that deserves to be discovered by the masses….
