5 Days of War

Set during the swift but devastating five-day war between Russia and the Georgian Republic in 2008, 5 Days of War is the account of a renegade American journalist caught behind enemy lines, who is determined, not only to survive, but to persuade apathetic American TV networks to run his story. Groping for the levers of outrage is a reasonable way to establish a rapport with an audience, and amoral corporations would seem to provide a good fulcrum to launch all that righteous indignation. But whatever its good intentions, 5 Days of War is a slog of a thriller. Director Renny Harlin may have fallen from his blockbuster peak of Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger, but he'll be damned if he doesn't litter a few car explosions and somersaults in his wake. The result is a lightweight flick about a heavy-duty subject which fails to drum up any excitement or provoke thought for a deserving subject.