Live Wire [DVD] [1992] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

My opinion-
This has Brosnan in good form, which didn't make any money as the box-office as it went straight to video, which is a shame as this a good thriller with made with style and excellent special effects.

RATING: 3 STARS ***

Very reminiscent at the outset of Blown Away, the premise suggests that the US, so long immune from terrorist threat, may be subject to internal terroism. As the plot proceeds, one is reminded of the storyline of Die Hard where a supposed terrorist is nothing but a robber.

Themeans by which the terror is spread is an explosive which is detonated by the human body itself and thus leaves no trace. Brosnan appears as an explosives expertwith a personal life in turmoil instigated in the first instance by the accidental drowning of his young daughter in the family swimming pool and an estranged wife allegedly in the midst of a relationship with a senator.

It is clear from the start that there is no terorist in the sense of a freedom fighter but there is a ruthless murderer who uses a terrorist approach to secure a ten million dollar payoff which he has been swindled out of.

The story proceeds at a good pace with hardly any time to draw breath but really does not carry the viewer with it. The scenes are all shot in glorious sunshine which shows off the Washington tourist attractions to good effect but which also serves to reduce the impact of the story. Similarly the extensive inclusion of insiders in the senate reduces the plausibilty of the plot. I was disturbed too by the focus on the ease by which Brosnan's character concocts explosives using highly visible ingredients in order to defeat the baddies. Although I do not like the idea of censorship I do question the judgement of film producers to educate the weak minded in this way.

In the end the bad guys get their comeuppance, the good guy gets thegirl and we all live happily everafter.

Brosnan had not yet aquired the gravitas that he would eventually bring to Bond and in many ways his character is an extension of the Remington Steels one where he is basically a good looking model. At times the character resembles that of an earlier movie, Taffin, where he falls into a depressive state but pulls himself out although the character there is much more interesting and dark.

This is not a bad movie but an OK movie. I would not put it into the same class as Blown Away or the Devil's Own or In the Name of the Father but nevertheless it is a slient reminder of the dangers we face from within. It does not take much for one person to terrorise anyone and we should always be on our guard for that eventuality.

On a final note. As I drew this review to a close I realised why the third senator in the story is so recognisable. It is because it is essentially the same part that the same actor plays in Timecop.
Ha.