The Peacemaker (1997)

Directed by Mimi Leder. Starring George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Marcel Iureş, Aleksandr Baluev, Armin Muehller-Stahl, Rene Medvešek, Randall Batinkoff, Gary Werntz, Michael Boatman, Alexander Peskov, Slavko Juraga, Harsh Nayyar. [R]

As Kidman’s National Security Council members declares oh-so-dramatically, “I’m not afraid of the man who wants ten nuclear weapons…I’m terrified of the man who only wants one.” That man is a bitter Bosnian (Iureş) determined to avenge the deaths of his wife and daughter, and he intends on getting the nuclear weapon from a renegade Russian general (Baluev) who stole a cache of warheads and made it look like the work of Chechen terrorists. Joining Kidman in her investigation is an impulsive U.S. Army Ranger officer (Clooney), more action hero than military liaison. Credibility is low and clichés are high, but Leder’s brawny direction and the well-crafted action scenes keep things entertaining more often than not (plus, even though the characters they play are at least faintly ridiculous, Clooney’s charisma and Kidman’s level-headed sobriety forge an engaging pair who refreshingly don’t succumb to formulaic romantic stirrings until the denouement). The overextended finale, however, doesn’t know when to quit—or how to give the audience something besides yet another ticking timebomb for the heroes to defuse—resulting in considerable dissipation of suspense. The first motion picture released by Dreamworks Pictures.

65/100