Deterrence

2000

Deterrence

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Deterrence Photos

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Movie Info

The world finds itself on the brink of nuclear disaster, with the balance point a small diner in Colorado, in the suspenseful political thriller Deterrence. In the year 2008, U.S. President Walter Emerson (Kevin Pollak), who recently took office after the death of the former chief executive, is campaigning for re-election. After winning the Colorado state primary, Emerson finds himself stranded in a roadside diner after a freak snowstorm. Traveling with Emerson are his chief of staff, Marshall Thompson (Timothy Hutton), national security advisor Gayle Redford (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and a network TV crew. While the president exchanges pleasantries with the diner's staff and customers, a new bulletin appears on TV: Udei Hussein, son of the late Saddam Hussein, has invaded Kuwait and butchered several hundred U.S. peace-keeping troops. Outraged, the president announces that if Hussein and his forces do not withdraw and officially surrender, he will begin dropping nuclear weapons on Baghdad. However, Iraq responds that if they are attacked, 23 cities in the United States and allied nations will be immediately destroyed in a counterattack. Emerson, his advisors, and the others trapped in the diner with them debate long and loud about what to do, and what the potential consequences could be. Deterrence was written and directed by former film critic Rod Lurie.

Rating:

R (Language and violence.)
Genre:

Drama, Mystery & Suspense
Directed By:

Rod Lurie
Written By:

Rod Lurie
In Theaters:

Mar 10, 2000 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Aug 29, 2000
Runtime:

101 minutes
Studio:

Paramount Home Video

Cast

Kevin Pollak
as President Emerson

Timothy Hutton
as Marshall

Sheryl Lee Ralph
as Gayle

Sean Astin
as Ralphie

Clotilde Courau
as Katie

Badja Djola
as Harvey

Mark Thompson
as Irvin

Uzi Gal
as Iraqi Ambassador

Kathryn Morris
as Lizzie

Michael Mantell
as Taylor Woods

Joe McCrackin
as Agent Williams

Scoot Powell
as Noah

Scott Powell

Rigg Kennedy
as Howard

Amit Mehta
as Abu Hussein

Kristen Shaw
as Alexandra Emerson

Ryan Cutrona
as Special Agent Dexter

View All

Critic Reviews for Deterrence

All Critics (39) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (21)

Quote not available.

February 22, 2001 | Rating: 3/4

Susan Stark
Detroit News
Top Critic
Having Deterrence unfold on a single set only adds to the film's artificiality.

January 1, 2000 | Rating: 2.5/5

Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic
It may be a little too dour, a little too self-inflated.

January 1, 2000

Ernest Hardy
Film.com
Top Critic
The plot twists fall about as weightily as the fake snow.

January 1, 2000 | Rating: D | Full Review…

Steve Daly
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic
The film begins and ends with footage of FDR intoning "I hate war," something the film takes two interminable hours to say.

January 1, 2000 | Full Review…

Jessica Winter
Village Voice
Top Critic
The talk grows tired while the tension, alas, barely grows at all. And the ending is a cheat, pure and simple.

January 1, 2000 | Rating: C

Eleanor Ringel Cater
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic
A president wrestles with another Iraq war.

December 22, 2010 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
Lurie quickly glazes over one important bit of backstory in the early going, a point that is crucial to understand some motivation.

July 16, 2005 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com
Quote not available.

June 30, 2005 | Rating: 1/5

Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Taut and intense. Pollak is outstanding.

March 26, 2004 | Rating: 4/5

Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com
Quote not available.

March 20, 2003 | Rating: 1/5

Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
To it's credit, the film doesn't pull many punches . . .It really gets the message across that when you threaten someone with nukes, you'd better be ready to pull the trigger.

March 20, 2003 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

View All Critic Reviews (39)

Audience Reviews for Deterrence

Mar 13, 2011

I really REALLY like this one. The premise is simple, in a snowed in diner in the middle of Colorado the president gets stuck on the way to an air force base. The possibility of nuclear war ensues.

Ken S Super Reviewer
Jan 02, 2005

[font=Century Gothic][color=darkslategray] "Deterrence" is a movie set in the year 2008 during the Colorado presidential primary. During which, the presidential party is stranded in a diner in the middle of a blizzard. At which point, there is a news alert about Iraq invading Kuwait. "Deterrence" is a throwback to cold war thrillers such as Fail-Safe. Now, this movie is undeniably tense throughout(led by a fine performance with Kevin Pollak as the President) but the ending is a copout. [/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#2f4f4f] The movie has a larger problem which is that this movie was made in 1999 and the world has changed immensely since then. So, it's impossible to imagine Uday Hussein leading an invasion of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia now, much less breathing. In fact, it's hard to imagine Iraq presenting this much of a threat now, and not taking terrorism into question.[/color][/font]

Walter M Super Reviewer