The Peacemaker

The Peacemaker has quietly become one of the more dependable crime dramas currently available in the US on Kanopy and Hoopla, and in the UK on Paramount Plus. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. A 6/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. George Clooney leads a cast that carries the story without ever feeling mechanical. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Kanopy.

There is a reason The Peacemaker keeps coming up in conversation. At its heart, The Peacemaker understands what makes crime drama work — character first, plot second. When a train carrying atomic warheads mysteriously crashes in the former Soviet Union, a nuclear specialist discovers the accident is really part of a plot to cover up the theft of the weapons. Assigned to help her recover the missing bombs is a crack Special Forces Colonel. George Clooney and Nicole Kidman lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1997. What makes The Peacemaker hold up is that the resolution matters less than how the characters get there. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Crime and mystery fans will find exactly what they are after in The Peacemaker. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. George Clooney anchors it, but the writing does the real work. If you are going to commit to one crime drama this month, make it this one.