Focus is Off

Rating: 6/10 (26 December 2012)

In this dramatization of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, President Kennedy must deal with Soviet aggression as tension mounts. Although the historical event has built-in suspense, the filmmakers manage to sap the excitement to some extent by rambling on too long and lingering too much on uninteresting details. The main problem is that the focus is not on Kennedy, but on O'Donnell, the cabinet member played by Costner whose importance in the crisis is exaggerated in this account. To make matters worse, Costner sports a laughable and horribly distracting Boston accent. Culp is also a bit too mannered as RFK. Greenwood, on the other hand, gives a finely understated performance as Kennedy.