Both are set in Washington, D.C. Both feature a hero dealing with the death of child and the disintegration of his marriage. Both villains are corrupt bureaucrats.

But where Spielberg's tale becomes increasingly complex and troubling, this one follows more conventional lines to a "McGuyver"-esque ending.

The subject here is exploding Senators—a concept not without merit in some cases. Elected officials, for no apparent reason, suddenly go boom, destroying themselves and anyone nearby. The cops are baffled; lobbyists are horrified.

FBI bomb disposal expert Danny O'Neill (Pierce Brosnan) is brought in. Danny has a problem. His wife (Lisa Eilbacher) is rumored to be having an affair with the noxious Sen. Traveras (Ron Silver, sporting a floppy haircut no Senator would allow near his head). Multi-cultural terrorist Mikhail Rashid (Ben Cross) is behind the scheme. Throughout, this capable cast remains in total denial of the inherent foolishness of the material. Director Christian Duguay uses some inventive locations that aren't normally seen in Washington-based features, and keeps the pace brisk.

The DVD
Video:
The disc contains full-frame and widescreen versions of R-rated and unrated versions of the film. Differences between the two versions (2 min.) are minimal—a bit more violence and an artsy sex scene. Overall, the image is excellent for a video premiere that's more than a decade old. The clarity of the picture gives some of the effects a bit of transparency. They look thin compared to today's fulsome CGI explosions. A bit of the inevitable flashing within background mini-blinds in one kitchen scene is the only noticeable flaw.

Sound:
The Dolby 5.1 Surround is an improvement over VHS tape in the action scenes, but really nothing special. I had to trigger the English subtitles to make out several lines of mumbled dialog.

Extras:
No extras beyond the two ratings.

Final Thoughts:
Brosnan made this film after he'd finished with "Remington Steel" on TV and before he took up the mantle of Bond. He's acceptably stalwart (and often understandably angry) here, though his accent sounds odd at times.