Time Bomb (2006)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Captivating movie !

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A case of a film that desperately wants to be exciting but doesn't come off that way. The film could have been original but it uses one of those typical 'done-to-death' style plots which we've seen in other (better) movies, namely 'Sudden Death'. Where the film suffers most is in its woeful miscasting of the lead character. David Arquette was the ideal lead man for 'Eight Legged Freaks' but for this one - no way. He looks way too childish for this role. In my view, Richard T. Jones would have made a better action hero rather than support character. In Frank Military, this was written by a former NCIS producer. As it stands, if it was Donald P. Bellisario penning this, this could have been so much better, but Military ain't no Bellisario.

Homeland Security Agent Michael Bookman (David Arquette) has not been spending enough time with his wife Lynn and son Sean. That may be about to change as they join 63,000 other fans at Washington's Memorial Stadium for the football game against New Orleans, a team which lost badly in the last game against Washington and now wants revenge.Also watching the game: fans at a bar where masked terrorists enter and handcuff them to a bomb which will go off if they move. The bomb is set on a timer, so it will go off anyway unless ...Somehow, one of the people in the bar moves carefully enough to make a phone call, and Bookman has to make yet another excuse to his wife and son.The first bomb was only a warning. A phone call made by someone with a disguised voice warns that the football stadium will be destroyed at the end of the game unless a prisoner with a Middle Eastern name I won't attempt to spell is released, and $100 million is deposited in an offshore account. The terrorist group Circle of Fire is blamed. Al Qaida is mentioned in the movie, but it is apparently separate. No one can announce this news to the crowd, and if the people start leaving--BOOM! When Bookman gets this news, he is on the phone with his wife, and he warns her to leave the stadium with Sean. Unfortunately, someone connected with the bombing threat knows where they are.Bookman and bomb expert Douglas Campbell (Richard T. Jones) must lead the search for the bomb or bombs, with numerous complications standing in the way of preventing a tragedy. Among these is the fact that in the event of nuclear war, Congress would move to quarters accessible from the stadium, and this is where the terrorists might be.Only a few people connected with the stadium or the game are allowed to know what is going on, and they are required to keep quiet--with men standing nearby with guns making sure they do.The tension level remains constant in this movie, and the excitement builds to a climax enhanced by spectacular mixing of audio and video from the game with audio and video of the efforts to prevent the bombing. If there were an Emmy for just editing in a TV-movie or miniseries, as opposed to just audio editing or video editing, they could hand that one out right now. This is also true because of the impressive job done for editing the disarming of the first bomb.Angela Bassett gave the standout performance here as the Homeland Security Agent who communicated with Bookman from the office where the investigation was taking place. She had difficult decisions to make--some of them life-or-death, and some having to be made with little warning.David Arquette also showed a take-charge attitude, though his character had trouble controlling his temper, and while his anger might have been justified, his performance needed a little more range.The football announcers did quite a good convincing job, especially the play-by-play man, who had one moment that could be ranked with the 1980 Olympic Hockey victory among the great events in sports broadcasting.I also need to single out the actor who played a suspect who was arrested. He didn't have a lot of lines, but he did a good job. At this point, I should also mention that several Muslims and Middle Easterners, or people believed to be one or the other, were unjustly accused. This to me was not a weakness because it added to the drama, though several valuable members of the explosives team could have been lost as a result.The writers really seemed to know what they were doing. I don't know enough to know whether the explosives experts were doing everything right, but they certainly dealt with a number of confusing and dangerous situations.The football game seemed real enough, though I know little about sports. Based on the commentary from the announcers, the game added a lot to the movie's excitement.This was one of the season's better TV-movies.

"Time Bomb" on CBS featured Mr. Courteney Cox as a Homeland Security officer who races to save 65,000 fans... and his own family... from a threatened terrorist attack at a pro football game in Washington, D.C.Funny how Olympic Stadium in Montreal was suddenly located in D.C., but that's another matter.I had absolutely no inclination or desire to watch "Time Bomb", but it was one of those "it's on, the DVR is rolling on my other stuff, what the hell, let's check it out for a few minutes" thingies.Unbelievable.I'd actually wondered before whether Arquette could play a non-clown role, and I got my answer tonight. All the classic overacting clichés... over emoting, pounding the wall, choking back tears, tortured grimaces... were there, and it was just awful.(As for the "tortured grimace" noted above: who knew the "Dewey from 'Scream'" scrunched-up face was his default look?) One indelible moment was when Arquette's Dewey... er, DHS Agent Bookman (not the library cop from the classic "Seinfeld" episode)... was forced to squelch a crying jag while explaining that his family had been kidnapped. He stopped talking, gulped audibly, placed his hand to his face and said, "Sorry." I can't imagine what co-star Richard T. Jones was thinking at the time.You'd think it was camp, but it was played just as straight as could be.As for Angela Bassett, I see her name is missing from the current cast list. I'm betting she was added later, which wouldn't have been a problem, since all of her scenes take place in a different location.Production values were O.K., but there are plot holes you could drive a truck thru (a zip line to a neighboring house? Wouldn't security notice?).And director Stephen Gyllenhaal (also not listed) must have really loved his football footage: there are long stretches of game action shown (with play-by-play), for no apparent reason. And don't think we don't get the scoreboard clock as a "24" allusion, either.David Arquette may be a terrific guy and has certainly had his share of successes with the odd-ball stuff. I actually admire him for wanting to stretch a bit, but dude, leave the tough-guy stuff for Willis or Keifer.

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.