The Peacemaker (1997)

Director:

Mimi Leder

Writers (WGA):

Leslie Cockburn (article) &
Andrew Cockburn (article) ...

Release Date:

26 September 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

This is not a test.

Plot:

A US Army colonel and a civilian woman supervising him must track down stolen Russian nuclear weapons before they're used by terrorists.

Plot Keywords:

Russia | Nuclear Weapons | Train Crash | Nuclear Explosion | New York

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

George Clooney	...	Lt. Col. Thomas Devoe
Nicole Kidman	...	Dr. Julia Kelly
Marcel Iures	...	Dusan Gavrich
Aleksandr Baluyev	...	General Aleksandr Kodoroff (as Alexander Baluev)
Rene Medvesek	...	Vlado Mirich
Gary Werntz	...	Terry Hamilton
Randall Batinkoff	...	Ken
Jim Haynie	...	General Garnett
Alexander Strobele	...	Dietrich Schuhmacher
Holt McCallany	...	Mark Appleton
Michael Boatman	...	CPN Beach
Joan Copeland	...	Senator Helen Bevens
Carlos Gómez	...	Santiago
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Dimitri Vertikoff
Slavko Juraga	...	Stevo

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and some language.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian | Serbo-Croatian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Brazil:12 | Iceland:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Mexico:B | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #35519)

Filming Locations:

Bratislava, Slovakia

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

A complete list of LTC Thomas Devoe's decorations and badges: Lieutenant Colonel, Special Forces Branch, 2nd Ranger Battalion Scroll, Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab. Special Forces Unit Crest, Thailand Army Parachutist Qualification Badge, Combat Infantryman's Badge, Pathfinder Badge. Joint Meritorious Unit Award. Silver Star with Bronze "V" device ;(Note: the Bronze V Device is not authorized for wear on the Silver Star medal.), Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two bronze Oak Leaf Clusters in lieu of repeat awards, Army Commendation Medal with one bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a repeat award, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with one bronze Star in lieu of a repeat award, Southwest Asia Service Medal with two gold Stars in lieu of repeat awards, Army Service Ribbon, Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait - Saudi Arabia, Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait - Emirate of Kuwait.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: Early on in the film the subtitles read "If they discovered missing warheads they would of found us in hours." This is grammatically incorrect and should read "would have".

Quotes:

[Julia Kelly is trying to disarm a nuclear bomb with less than a minute left while Tom Devoe is standing next to her]
Julia Kelly: Devoe, run!
Thomas Devoe: [laughs] Okay, I'll be in the truck.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Sum of All Fears (2002)

Soundtrack:

NOCTURNE IN C-SHARP MINOR, OP. POSTH.

underrated/over-criticized

Some movies stick in your consciousness. This is one of them. Although the script is not that original in its major components, Mimi Leder made a very strong visual statement here. The train hi-jacking sequence is about as good as anything on film. Although many reviewers here see the movie as one long cliché, the anti-hero is really protesting Western militarism and the ubiquitous arms industry. He's suffered a great personal loss at the hands of the "let's sell guns to everybody" group. The "Peacekeepers" ignore the slaughter going on around them. Blowing up the U.N. and a sizable chunk of Manhattan may not be the best answer, but in the context of the film it makes sense. In many ways the film is much more subtle than just "good guys/bad guys." Look again and watch for the nuances.