Kevin Kostner is a unique presence in Hollywood, whose output
includes some good solid thrillers as well as the worst of turkeys.
My fear going into this movie was that Mr. big time leading man
would hijack the non-fiction part and spin a yarn wherein the
world is saved from nuclear holocaust solely by the superhuman
integrity of Kevin Costner's stock character.
And it was... but not solely. Costner's persona (presidential advisor Kenneth P. O'Donnell) is more of a team player than ever before. The Kennedy brothers (Bruce Greenwood as JFK and Stephen Culp as Robert Kennedy) rightfully get plenty of spotlight, and numerous other real-life figures also get their moments on screen.
The biggest thing Costner brings to the picture is a budget for impressive production values to ensure no that detail of this international period drama is left to the imagination. (The '60s vintage air raids and naval maneuvers are more than just hinted at.)
But the real feature of this film is the political intrigue and tension, both between the United States and Russia and between the White House and the Pentagon. President Kennedy is constantly struggling to reign in his trigger-happy generals as he steers a perilous course to avoid the ultimate catastrophe. This movie does a surprisingly good job of portraying the confusion and frustration as we struggle to keep our act together, and it also hints that the Soviet leaders were in a similar state of disarray, thus compounding the difficulty of the situation. Even though the outcome is already known (we're all still here...) the tension level is nice and high, throughout the film.
It's hard to distinguish Kevin Costner's Kenneth P. O'Donnell from his Elliot Ness or his Jimmy Garrison. That's okay, though; it works for this film. I'm a big fan of Canadian actor Bruce Greenwood from his work in such great (but obscure Canadian) films as Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter. After slumming with cheesy (but no doubt lucrative) bad guy roles in Double Jeopardy and Rules of Engagement, it's wonderful to see him get a chance to really shine as President John F. Kennedy. Stephen Culp is also excellent as Robert Kennedy.
The film is a good entertaining watch, but it's also a very poignant reminder of how high the stakes were (and still are), and how easily a small crisis can snowball into a catastrophe when cool heads don't prevail.