Live Wire

1992 "Your body is 93% water... no one is safe."
5.6| 1h25m| en
Details

Danny O'Neill is a bomb disposal expert assigned to a case where terrorists have developed an "invisible" liquid explosive which is activated within the human body.

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Reviews

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.
Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
david-sarkies Generally I have discovered that terrorist movies where terrorists place bombs everywhere are quite dull. They have been so dull that I can't even record their names. This movie promised to be such a movie and as such I was slow in wanting to watch it. In fact I was quite surprised. The bad guys were middle eastern terrorists and as such it promised to be even more dull. Then the main character was having problems with his wife and I was wondering when the clichés would end.Well, the movie wasn't all that bad. Three senators were promising to supply weapons to some Middle Eastern nations, but there were three who rescinded on their promise and had the influence to block this. As such the terrorists wanted to pressure them to fall into line, and had devised an explosive which activates when mixed with acid. One expects bombs to be devices that are activated with timers, but this explosive is simply activated through a reaction with acid - especially stomach acid and as such is disguised as water and the subjects drink it, then explode.The catch in this movie is that the FBI agent who is investigating these explosions has a problem with one of the senators - his wife was caught having an affair with him. Thus the agent is torn between his animosity towards the senator and his duty to protect him. There are a number of suspicions that the agent has towards him, but he is generally treated as being a decent chap. In the end though it is realised that he is corrupt and his death is very deserving.This movie is okay. It isn't one to rave about, nor is it full of action packed explosions. It is something to simply watch and enjoy while waiting for a movie of a decent caliber to come along.
Robert J. Maxwell Action/thriller about Pierce Brosnan as a troubled but wisecracking FBI explosive expert. There's really nothing much new here, but what you see is pretty well done. It's just another professional genre piece.There is the corrupt senator (Ron Silver) who's made a fortune from a crooked arms deal. There is the freelance explosive artist (Ben Cross) who has learned how to make an explosive substance out of something that looks, acts, and tastes like water until it is activated by stomach acid, when it throws the victim into fits and turns him into a monster bomb. (!) The senator has been making love to Brosnan's wife, which causes Brosnan to drink too much, but they get together at the end, and there is an African-American sidekick who manages to analyze the explosive water, and when Brosnan is cornered by the evildoers in the senator's kitchen he saves himself by making bombs out of ordinary household substances like Vaseline, acetone, alcohol, arugela, salt, pepper, and a touch of marjoram, and -- well, you can guess the rest. It's interesting to watch a human drink a glass of water, fall into an epileptiform seizure, burst his eyeballs with blood, and blow up, leaving only bits and pieces of flesh and shards of bone behind to mark his passing.Pierce Brosnan is a lightweight actor but a likable one. If Ron Silver were more intense he'd be a black hole. Ben Cross is the kind of villain who -- well, here's a scene. Cross is hurrying through his laboratories and the man who invented the secret explosive is scuttling along beside him, reminding Cross that he hasn't been paid yet. Cross says something like, "Yes, you're right. I owe you." Then he borrows a pen to write a check and, instead, stabs the natterer to death right through the apricot. Near the end, another henchman is stupid enough to claim he's done his job and is leaving now. Right. Cross plugs him in the back. There's no reason for any of this, except to provide a few more colorful deaths, as if there weren't enough.You might find it satisfying if you're in the mood, but I doubt you'll be surprised at much that happens.
Randall Cameron Another film with several good elements that manages to fail, chiefly because of weaknesses in the story.Good cast in Pierce Brosnan and Ben Cross -- they must have needed the money to take the job.A key "science fiction" element is not really believable, but this is a Hollywood thriller, so if you accept it, you could enjoy the story.There are many good one-liners, and the interactions between the protagonists and various minor characters are believable and entertaining. The pace is reasonable, and some degree of suspense is maintained, with some stock "thriller" elements.Brosnan's character and his personal problems are well developed and make him sympathetic, and he plays his part well.The film is also mercifully short.BUT -- two major holes in the story killed it for me: 1. A political background (the reason the story is happening) is mentioned, but not really explained in terms of motives. Two minutes dialog could have filled in the holes and added a lot in terms of believability.2. The villain's character is not developed at all. What motivates him (other than money?) Ben Cross does what he can with a lousy script (not much). And his name, Mikhail Rashid (I think never actually mentioned in the film - a Tatar father and Russian mother) seems intended to exploit negative racist stereotypes (Russian = corrupt mafiosi; Arabic name = terrorist). He seems like a cartoon, Bond-esquire villain without the glitz. With Ben Cross, they could have written a complex, nuanced, even sympathetic villain, and this would have improved the story immensely.I gave this 5 out of 10 -- not painfully repulsive, but there are better ways to spend your time.
arunuke This movie is way too cool ... brosnan is as icy cool as he can get as remington steele ... hez a bomb expert who finds a strange series of cases happening in the city.. but no clue about the kinda explosives that were used. his estranged wife is now the secretary of the man who brosnan thinks is the next target. the movie opens up with a unmatchable pace and surprisingly maintains it till the end ...