Ignition

An attempt on the American president's life and the launch of a new Moon mission are the hooks here for what could have been an intriguing political thriller. However, William Davies's screenplay loses the momentum achieved in the slick monochrome opening as it lurches between ever-more predictable situations, as judge Lena Olin and washed-up US marshal Bill Pullman investigate rogue general Colm Feore's black market operation. Jonathan Freeman's cinematography is admirable, but it's often wasted on action set pieces that seem as though they're driving the increasingly unlikely plot rather than arising out of it. The cast rallies to the cause, but this is mediocre fare.