[.ca] Peacemaker (1997) (ISBN 078323550X)

From Amazon.com:
It seems that thrillers these days--even good ones--are all about scene-chewing bad guys, cute retorts fit for the Dennis Miller show, and one big special effect to end the movie. Well, something like The Peacemaker, the first feature film from DreamWorks, puts the record straight. Here is an expertly paced thriller with a sensible villain, smart instead of cute dialogue, and a focus on action instead of special effects. It's not original, just solid. It's the second of these energetic and effective thrillers that writer Michael Schiffer (Crimson Tide) has penned. The White House Nuclear Smuggling Group tracks down 10 stolen nuclear bombs after a suspicious train wreck in Russia. The acting head of the department (Nicole Kidman) and her military field officer (George Clooney) are off to Europe to track down the bombs. Instead of a Gary Oldman-Bruce Dern madman, The Peacemaker's heavy is an unknown Romanian actor (Marcul Iures) playing a Bosnian rebel who works passionately and quietly. This may be a popcorn movie, but it uses the ripe emotions of the Bosnian War to create tension. This is the best film vehicle yet for the overwhelming charisma of George Clooney as a quick witted, generally warm Oliver North type who will seek deadly vengeance without pause. He's matched very well by the professional polish of Nicole Kidman who is showing great flexibility in dividing her roles between serious and fun fare. --Doug Thomas

Excuse me I hate to keep interrupting:
While 1997's prescient "Peacemaker" is a piercing wakeup call with early echoes of 9-11 and weapons of mass destruction, it is also an instrument of propaganda that could easily have oozed out of America's trigger-happy military-industrial complex. But it also goes beyond both of these cliches to try to achieve an understanding of the subverted forces fighting each other in our ever churning world. Politics not withstanding, this is just about the finest, tightest thriller I have ever seen, and extremely fast paced. It was Dreamworks' first major thriller, a home run that vaults way out of the ballpark! They did it right. Congratulations to Mimi Leder for a first rate job. Among the many German crew members, Hans Zimmer's score is one of his best. Or anyone's best, complete with full choir. From first frame to last, Peacemaker is a film of razor-sharp pacing, superb casting, spectacular stunts, and incredible locations. It stimulates the brain on the most primitive and sophisticated levels, as the best films should -- a sensory delight of sound, music, facial expressions, graphic action, and delightful camerawork, and crisp and often funny use of language. I found this film totally believable. From a standpoint of cast, script, and score, we clearly have here a labor of love. First, let's talk about George Clooney as Lt. Colonel Tom Devoe. Clooney's never been in anything this good before or since. Mimi Leder brings out the best in George. His role summons superlative comparisons such as Alec Baldwin in Red October. Or William Shatner as Captain Kirk. Will the feat ever be repeated? Heroes like this don't come along every day. Clooney is in his element, whether screaming expletives into a helicopter radio, or testifying before a congressional committee. I nominate Clooney's peak moments in the film were when he 1) "excuse me I hate to keep interrupting" in the congressional briefing and 2) when he captures those warheads on the Russian bridge. Righteous! He has the most important neck of any actor in Hollywood, living or dead. Kidman, with her sharp, aggressive, professional feminity, lights up the screen! Sorry, there just wasn't time for romance or love in this life-threatening story. From the moody richness of a a train chugging through the dark Ukrainian forest, to the crowded streets of New York, Peacemaker is rich in imagery and texture. Look closely. There are no extras. Nothing is generic or stock. Everyone on the screen, from lead actor to those many people in the background, render perfectly convincing performances! Even minor non-speaking roles were delivered with utter authenticity. After the sensational Mercedes car chase in Vienna and the helicopter pursuit in Russia, the pursuit of Bosnian diplomat Dusan Gavrich in the streets of New York brings the film to it's desparate climax. The only thing I found hokey and overblown was when the Russian General Aleksandr Kodoroff first steps out of his vehicle in the smoky train station; it seemed rather staged. But forget that. This is one of the best thrillers ever made. Intelligent, thought provoking, and precise.

One I've watched over and over:
I've owned this movie for years. I seem to find myself reaching for it whenever I can't make up my mind on what to watch. I think it is George Clooney's finest film. I'm an avid action movie fan and this one just never gets old. There are very few slow spots and even they add to the story instead of leaving you sighing because you want it to get on with it. I don't usually review movies but this is one that I feel pretty strongly about. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys movies that you want to watch more than once.

Basically, George Clooney portraying Oliver North:
The is a good, solid political thriller. It's probably the best of that sub-genre that does not involve Tom Clancy in some capacity. The most interesting thing, perhaps, about the movie is to see a diehard liberal like George Clooney play a character based EXACTLY on Ollie North, right down to mannerisms and hair. I guess this film proves ol' George can act after all...

stop a nuclear warhead from going off, now go:
a good suspense thriller/action adventure about a train robbery and nuclear wareheads on the run with terroists. Kidman and Clooney team up and try to find the people in order to stop the madness. some boring moments brim this down but the finale is great. for fans of the leads. highlight is when Clooney gets out of the car and goes over to the guy in the other car and shoots him in the chest and grabs his suitcase, just great, he walks over and unloads bullets in the guys chestal cavity, awesome.

Confused movie!:
This movie is a cheesy wannabe-Clancy mess for the first two thirds, and a cheesy wannabe-Die Hard 3. Nicole Kidman is just doing unbelievable stuff for a nuclear researcher (commanding combat helicopters?) and George Clooney is a cocky, jerky, undisciplined and unprofessional colonel. His job function is never really clear, but they pitch him as a generic "James Bond" type maverick-superman-agent. He knows everyone in the world and is making phone calls to president, prime ministers, and generals every three minutes... and he is also apparently the highest ranking military official in the universe, as he spends most of the movie bossing around generals, police chiefs, nuclear engineers, Russian spies, and commando teams. The pace of the movie is overly busy and rushed, with far too many scenes taking place in bustling intelligence offices, with people shouting things like "FAA is on line 9!" "Pentagon thinks it may be terrorist related!" "The FDA needs respons STAT!" "Call Clark at Wilkins--he'll need to know!" "Get those reports ASAP!!" "Mark, Norad is on the phone!" ... and so on. Imagine hearing this dialogue for about 120 minutes and you've got the idea. Pass on this... go for Die Hard or a real Clancy movie.