Peacemaker, The MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -2 1/2

A mysterious explosion in the former Soviet Union annihilates a train carrying nuclear weapons on their way to be deactivated. Dr. Julia Kelly (Nicole Kidman), acting head of the White House's Nuclear Smuggling Group, discovers that the incident is a diabolical attempt to cover up the theft of the weapons. Immediately Dr. kelly is put in charge of recovering the stolen nukes. Assigned to help her is Col. Thomas Devoe (George Clooney), a military intelligence officer with close contact in the former Soviet army and a member of the U.S. Army's elite Special Forces unit. Kelly's and Devoe's conflicting styles cause the two to develop a love-hate relationship. But their differences are put aside as they track the warheads across Eastern Europe and find themselves in a frantic race against time after one of the stolen nuclear devices ends up in the hands of a terrorist who plans to detonate the bomb on the doorstep of the United Nations in New York. THE PEACEMAKER will draw healthy crowds at the box-office for its excellent cinematography, sound track, and cast. But it will fail to meet expectations as the long-awaited firstborn of Stephen Speilberg's new production company DreamWorks.

Speilberg should be applauded for abstaining from sexually related material. The film is absolutely free of sex, nudity, and sexually suggestive action. One exception is a scene in which a peasant woman breastfeeds her infant, but the image is far from sexually arousing. Unfortunately, whatever merits the film earns for its lack of sensual stimulation, it loses with a morass of graphic violence and foul language. The dialogue contains 22 crude words and 16 obscenities. And the Lord's name is taken in vain 14 times. The violence is portrayed graphically as men are shot at point-blank range and many fights include punching, kicking, and stabbing with knives. One scene in which a sniper kills an innocent woman and her daughter may be particularly disturbing for some viewers. In essence, THE PEACEMAKER is far from peaceful.

Preview Reviewer: Kristi Shepherd
Distributor: DreamWorks, 100 Universal Plaza, Building 477 Universal City, CA 91608