***SPOILERS*** Long originally 180 minutes long and boring political drama involving the smuggling of weapons grade petroleum to foreign governments mostly in Latin America. That's being done through the Rome office of the presidential campaign manager of Italian/American John Scanzano who's a shoo-in to win he 1992 US Presidential Elections. It's Scanzaon's good friend US foreign reporter for the Western Morning News Frank Magenta who uncovers this use of his campaign to smuggle the plutonium in return for as much as a 100 million dollars in campaign contribution! That soon sets off red flags all over the both the European and African, where the petroleum originates from, continents!
Magenta with the help of nuclear physicist Catherine Lungwua of the EAC, European Atomic Commission, soon helps uncovers this devious plan using the South African freighter the "Black Mumba" to smuggle the petroleum into Italy and then ship it the the countries,in South America, who's governments bought it in the black market. The only drawback in all this is that a number of those working in this smuggling operation have to be killed with their arms, that were contaminated with radiation, chopped off in order not to draw attention to what going on!
the movie get a bit confusing with Magenta getting involved with a combination US Presidential Campaign and plutonium smuggling ring and almost ending up dying from radiation poisoning in the process. Martin Sheen as reporter Frank Magenta is at age 50 in excellent physical shape in what looks like him doing his own stunts which is a lot better then what the dialog what the movies screenplay gives him to work with .
****SPOILERS**** Despite his small roll in the film David Birney as US Presidential Candidate Frank Scanzano steals the show as a politician who when it's discovered what those under him have been doing to get him elected does the right thing, something almost unknown in American as well as European politics, in going before the public and telling the truth in how manipulated he was by those who he trusted and letting all the chips fall where they may. Even though "Death Touch" is only a movie and not too believable at that Scaznzano's honest actions could very well teach those politicians both running and trying to stay in elected office a thing or two in how to behave and not panic by doing the wrong thing when the walls start to cave in on them which like in John Scanzano's case was not of their or his own doing.
