This is another government thriller which has some captivating moments that would engage a large audience. It stars Nick Nolte and Julia Roberts as rival Chicago newspaper reporters Peter Brackett and Sabrina Peterson assigned to cover the same story involving a deliberately derailed train. They soon find themselves embroiled in a corrupt cover-up plot involving scientists and government officials.
The movie starts off a little slow when we are introduced to the reporters, who take a while to grow on you, especially Nolte's character. His somewhat crack-up personality give you a little shallow personification of him, but his character does develop more as the plot progresses on. The back and forth between Nolte and Roberts in trying to get clues and the scoop of the story first was pretty humorous, especially when Nolte literally sends Roberts on a wild-goose chase when he gives her a false tip.
The suspense builds when unknown assassins start pursuing the reporters, sending them on a chase around the state (wished Nolte and Roberts would at least show a little more scared emotion since there are people who want them eliminated). It all leads to a surprising and unpredictable climax as all the pieces of the puzzle are put together.
The corruption portion of the plot was suspenseful overall, but the subplot between Nolte and Roberts relationship was a tad awkward at times.
Grade B
