Deterrence

Starring:Sean Astin, John Cirigliano, Clotilde Courau, Jim Curley, Ryan Cutrona, Badja Djola, Graham Galloway, James Handy, Timothy Hutton, Rigg Kennedy, Michael Mantell, Joe McCrackin, Amit Mehta, Kathryn Morris, Kevin Pollak, Scoot Powell, Sheryl Lee Ralph, J. Scott Shonka, Mark Thompson (VI)
Studio: Paramount
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Deterrence offers a welcome throwback to such sweaty-palmed chamber pieces as Fail-Safe and Twelve Angry Men, and in his debut as writer-director, Rod Lurie, a West Point graduate and former film critic, has crafted a taut, one-set drama that would have been ideal for live television. With its provocative what-if scenario and a sharp cast confined to a claustrophobic space, this movie's more clever than coherent, but it grabs your attention for 103 briskly paced minutes.

The year is 2008, and U.S. President Walter Emerson (Kevin Pollak) has something to prove. He wasn't elected (he took office upon the death of the previous president), and he needs a pivotal boost in a current primary election. While he and his entourage are trapped under heavy snowfall in a tiny Colorado diner, Emerson must decide whether to unleash a nuclear arsenal on the son of Saddam Hussein, who has invaded Kuwait and taken hundreds of American lives. With his chief of staff (Timothy Hutton), top advisers, and a cluster of terrified diners, Emerson sorts through his options as tensions come to a boil.

Amazon.com

Deterrence offers a welcome throwback to such sweaty-palmed chamber pieces as Fail-Safe and Twelve Angry Men, and in his debut as writer-director, Rod Lurie, a West Point graduate and former film critic, has crafted a taut, one-set drama that would have been ideal for live television. With its provocative what-if scenario and a sharp cast confined to a claustrophobic space, this movie's more clever than coherent, but it grabs your attention for 103 briskly paced minutes.

This all works well on the surface, and Deterrence gains depth by depicting a president who is potentially as evil as his unseen enemy. But the film is almost fatally vague (clearly Lurie wants viewers to bring their own interpretation to these events) and ends with a twist that's too contrived to be dramatically satisfying. Until that point, however, Deterrence will certainly keep you engaged. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Great Political Movie.......2007-05-15

I saw this movie years ago, before our involvement in our current sturggles in Afganistan and Iraq. The movie is good, but the ending makes it great - I love when movies do that! After watching again, was interesting to see how Iraq and our current struggles relate. If you like to keep up on politics, this is a good movie to watch.

Deterrence.......2007-02-27

An OUTSTANDING film, and I dare say no more because I don't think you'll publish it. It should be shown on prime-time TV and ACLU, Islamic Societies, or whoemever be darned!. The colors of our flag do NOT run - that is what this film is all about.

Great Movie! Almost phrophecy fulfilled!!!.......2007-01-10

WoW! I first saw this movie when it released and thought it was an above average drama even then.
However, after seeing it again recently, I realize that it was very forward thinking and ahead of its time as well.
It was right on regarding the current Iraq situation, and is actually quite realistic regarding policy in a post-911 world.
Kevin Pollack is very believable as a non-elected President, and the 'Diner-esque' way the movie is filmed works well within this type of a drama.
If you like dramas about war and politics and also like intrigue, watch this movie

Best Movie/Best Picture quality and an A+Rating.......2006-10-15

Deterrence should have received an academy award for Best Picture, Best Director and Best leading actor Kevin Pollak. This was a very well written, well thought out, very believeable movie that will grab your mind and you by the seat of your pants and keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end. This is the kind of movie you will want to see more than once. You will probably want to have your own dvd to watch it again and again. This movie is nothing less than exceptional good intertainment. I give this movie my AA+ rating. The story, the acting and the directing, in this low budget movie is nearly flawless and deserves the highest praise. Very well done. This movie was well worth every minute of my time to see it. Truly, one of the best of the best movies I have ever had the pleasure to see. Everyone should see this movie at least once or twice in their life time. Buy two dvds and hand one out to your family, friends and neighbors to see.

Too many mistakes.......2006-09-30

I am writing this as I watch the movie. The more I watch, the lower the review gets for the below reasons.

The whole beginning of the movie is off, because of the huge gaping mistakes in regards to our weapons systems. It is totally unrealistic, as they describe weapons we do not have, and do not know simple geographic layouts of the countries involved (one does not have to fly over Saudi Arabia to enter Iraq...Iraq has a coast on the Persian Gulf.) They bring in religious aspects from a very basic and infantile understanding when the waitress begins to speak with the President. The movie dialogue is very poorly written and thought-out. The discussions of the use of nuclear weapons are very abrupt, and completely unrealistic. These discussions of nuclear weapons usage are based on myths and uneducated/unresearched ideas of peoples' fears of what happens, without regard to the true checks and balances in place. The movie denigrates the USAF Academy, and assumes the president of the US has no knowledge of nuclear options. Instead of discussing the issues surrounding the use of nuclear weapons, the president discusses weather, colleges people attended, sports people played, religion, and talked to his daughter about school. The description of nuclear tests is wholly inaccurate (underestimated). This is after a poor transition between high school sports and nuclear weapon use ethics. This causes the president to finally become pensive about his previous threats of nuclear war. The movie assumes Iraq has the ability to strike the US with weapons from Iraq. This is wholly unrealistic. A person in the diner is allowed to spew a litanny of racial slurs to the president, and he speaks to him in a conciliatory way, rather than dealing with him realistically as a person in authority. The presdident in the movie says "I have binoculars and a keyboard, and I have no idea what to do." The highest security clearance topics are supposedly discussed in front of a large group of civilians. 30 seconds from bomb release, and the president begins talking about football to an Australian from NE US. I won't continue on with further huge mistakes, because they compromise the ending of the movie, assuming one wants to see this.

Basically, nuclear war is trivialized by this movie. So is the command and control aspects involved. Not a cliff-hanger, but a scare-tactic to renew a fear of military constraints on the weapons' use. The movie is what one would assume the procedures would be if a bunch of kids were in charge of dealing with nuclear weapons and the planning of their use. Even the most vehemently opposed person to nuclear weapons could not realistically believe this is a realistic movie. Acting was horrible and unrealistic. The whole movie was shot within a diner. There is no suspense, just bad acting and an obvious lack of any knowledge of anything military.

Average customer rating:

Deterrence
Starring: Sean Astin , Clotilde Courau , Badja Djola , Timothy Hutton , and Rigg Kennedy
Director: Rod Lurie
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Deterrence (Minutos Extremos) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

Average customer rating:

Deterrence (Minutos Extremos) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]
Director: Rod Lurie
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Average customer rating:

Great Political Movie
Deterrence
Great Movie! Almost phrophecy fulfilled!!!
Best Movie/Best Picture quality and an A+Rating
Too many mistakes

Deterrence
Starring: Sean Astin , John Cirigliano , Clotilde Courau , Jim Curley , and Ryan Cutrona
Manufacturer: Paramount Studio
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video