Deterrence

Former KABC film critic Rod Lurie wrote and directed this howlingly bad Cold War remnant that tries to recreate the tension of a nuclear stand-off by giving Saddam Hussein's son a secret, worldwide arsenal and pitting him against an embattled president (Kevin Pollak), snowed-in at a Colorado diner with a peanut gallery of nervous patrons during the crisis. Pretentious, ludicrous, unskilled and about a decade too late to be effectively suspenseful, this Red Scare-spawn B-movie reeks of cheap production values, amateurish directorial decisions and lame dramatic gimmicks (it's shot partially in black-and-white). Lurie writes himself into a dramatic corner, then opts for a last reel cop-out so insultingly absurd and nonsensical that it's not only a slap in the face of the audience, but erases any semblance of integrity Pollak's president might have had. Not recommended. (R. Blackwelder)