Absolute Power MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +3 Content: -2

The Oscar-winning combination of Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman from Unforgiven returns to the big screen. Again directed by Eastwood, this film pits a master thief against the most powerful man in the country. Luther Whitney (Eastwood) is a professional burglar who enters the home of billionaire Walter Sullivan (E.G. Marshall) intending to steal. While he's working in a hidden vault, however, Luther must hide as a drunken couple enters the room -- Sullivan's wife Christy and Alan Richmond (Hackman), the President of the United States. When Richmond gets too rough, Christy defends herself with a letter opener, but Secret Service agents burst in and shoot her. Chief of Staff Gloria Russell (Judy Davis) has the agents clean up the murder scene, but the opener is left behind. Luther picks it up and escapes, but the murder is blamed on him. Homicide detective Seth Frank (Ed Harris) suspects Luther but can't prove anything, and he doesn't realize that the president's agents are trying to kill Luther. Can Luther stay alive long enough to make Richmond pay for his crime? The tension-filled cat-and-mouse chase keeps the audience attention riveted to the screen.

The plot paints a pretty disparaging picture of a fictional leader of the United States and those who protect him. The President is an alcoholic and a promiscuous adulterer with little discretion. There's no nudity except for some paintings and no intercourse is shown, but unconventional sexual acts are implied. The initial shooting is graphic, with blood splattering Richmond. He also gets stabbed in the arm with the letter opener. The agents are willing to kill to cover up the President's involvement in this incident. On orders from the President, they try to murder Luther's daughter by shoving her car off a cliff, but she survives. During an attack Luther injects lethal drugs into an agent's neck. A number of crude and obscene words foul up the dialogue and there are many regular profanities. The excessive use of the Lord's name in vain in particular greatly damages the film's acceptability.

Preview Reviewer: Paul Bicking
Distributor: Columbia Pictures (Castle Rock Entertainment), 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232