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)
Deterrence
Paramount, 104 min., R, VHS: $79.99, DVD: $29.99 Vol. 15, Issue 5
Deterrence
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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