Time Bomb (2006)

Expected more

Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

Absolutely brilliant

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Department of Homeland Security agent Mike Bookman is on his way to meet his wife and son at an American football game in Washington when he gets divert to a bomb planted in a crowded bar in Washington. The bomb disposal experts cannot even get close to diffusing it and, with everyone evacuated, it detonates. Almost instantly another call comes in that this attack was just a show of strength and that the real bomb is the Washington stadium. It will collapse the whole stadium on the 65000 people inside if anyone is evacuated and a high profile terrorist prisoner is not released. With the pressure already on him, Bookman gets another very personal motivator.From the very start this 24 wannabe seems happy to do the basics on the cheap but by learning from that show in regards what works. Hence we get the ticking clock situation, the constantly moving cameras, the Muslim terrorists, torture and the power of technology. So far so genre but ultimately it is weak in key areas that does undercut the film as a whole. The plot is generic but relies too heavily on weak devices and twists to keep it moving – even 24 struggles to do this but it does have a whole season to sustain. The use of Bookman's family and the many twists just reduce tension rather than increase it. Unlike some I did like the use of DV because it presents the illusion of action and realism when used with restraint, however other than this there is not a lot that Gyllenhaal's direction has to recommend it for.The biggest weakness is the casting of David Arquette. He is far too weak to convince and I cannot believe that he was the first choice for this role. He is a light comedy actor and not suited or the Sutherland role. To be honest Jones would have been better in the main role as he has more presence and urgency about him in his turn, which is not brilliant but is definitely effective within the demands of the film. The main reason I checked this out was the presence of Bassett, because I was curious to see what she was up to recently – not only do I think she is talented but she is stunning even as she turns 50 this year. Here all she does is a few days worth of work, remote from the action and has more "reaction" shots than dialogue scenes. 24's Caro Rota turns up briefly (and uncredited) as a terrorist but other than that the cast are mostly TVM standard.Time Bomb is not great, even by genre standards but it is just about clichéd enough to allow the undemanding viewer to watch, safe in the knowledge that thinking or caring is not required. The script is weak, the twists weak and the whole delivery is derivative. It might just about have been fun if it had had a stronger lead actor but, as it is, Arquette is so badly cast that he doesn't even convince once.

The movie is not bad. Which ought to tell the discerning movie watcher quite a bit. One serious problem, with 500,000 actors in the world the best they can come up with for a Kiefer Sutherland type role is David Arquette? Not a single comedic moment, unless you find humor in mass murder. I can't see or hear Arquette without thinking ditsy lame comedy. The movie is part Sum of all fears and part Die Hard part 3, and part Sudden Death.We've all seen the generic terrorist movie with minor variances, and this one is a cut above most made for TV movies. If there's nothing else on, watch a half hour and if it catches your interest, stay with it.....it does get better.

I'm watching it right now on CBS, at best it is an average ticking clock disaster story. Acting is all quite capable. Nice editing in the action sequences. Good feel for the chaotic moments. That's hard to depict well.Nothing new here, bombs planted in a football stadium. Lots of people as potential victims & shots of agents sweating over wires & LED countdowns. A few plot twists, but they aren't even novel. It's not clear to me how the explosives were embedded into the structure. This would imply an absurd lead time for the plot. Maybe that was explained better & I missed it. Why bother to cut holes in support beams & plant bombs? That would take a lot of time, & make lots of noise. That is a huge plot holeNice to see Jayne Heitmeyer again. She played Renee Palmer in Earth Final Conflict, & I enjoy seeing her again.David Arquette often just seems too stiff in dramatic roles. he's a funny, likable guy, but I'm not quite buying him as the lead in a taught action role. He has some good moments, but I don't feel the grit & determination that I see when I watch Southerland in 24. I love the Arquette girls & I was a fan of Cliff, but right know David reminds me more of a city planner than a tough guy Homeland security agent.Ouch, Arquette just shot a guy in the hand. Its ruthless, but Arquette isn't the tough guy type to do this. The bomb jacket on his wife & son are a bit much. The plot is getting rather convoluted as the story draws to a climax. Arquette jogging with a bomb vest on is too much. They jump & wrestle with these bomb vests on like they were some kind of film prop. Oh wait, they are...Climax is on the silly side, & the ending shots with the American flag are pretty manipulative.A one shot deal on a Sunday evening. Not bad, but if you didn't watch this broadcast, you will probably never get a chance to see this again. Oh well, probably as a re-run this summer.

First this TV effort has three of my favs, David Arquette, Richard T Jones and the great Angela Bassett. Sadly they are not enough to save this odd fast paced terrorist adventure flick. The movie starts fast and you hardly have enough time to get to know anyone. It also has one of the most annoying filming gimmicks. The moving camera and fast shots of scenes and voice overs during fast shots. Its enough to give you a headache and you can see the same annoying gimmick in past disaster flicks like "10.5" and "The end of the world films" that have been on TV as of late. The story itself is a contradiction to its own purpose. Terrorist plant bombs in a football stadium and kidnap the family of one of the homeland security people played by Arguette. They warn the agents to stay away and not let anyone else know and not to move people out of the stadium. OK...so why then do they move security people in knowing the terrorists are watching them...and if they are being watched why don't the terrorists just tell the agents to leave. I mean they see them when they find the bombs and....unless I missing something....why don't they just threatened to blow up the place if the agents don't exit the arena?....To many questions like these had me rolling my eyes....the only good thing....was the final act when suspicions make for a guessing game of who's in on the threat...but again its not enough to save this frenzy of a movie that half the time looks like its being filmed by someones camcorder....Arguette has the chops to play serious but he dangles on the over the top...as does Angela...but she has it down to an art form and it works for her....Richard's laid back performance is best here. The reasons for all this drama and whats behind the threat will make your eyes roll all the way back and pop out from the absurdity...and again it finishes the same way it started fast and quick and your left feeling like you just ate your food real fast and didn't have time to enjoy it....