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Dead in a heartbeat

Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

A terrorist of a different kind!

When the first explosion erupts in the middle of Seattle's morning traffic, the bomb squad is at a loss to find a motive or suspect. After forensic testing the lab concludes that the explosives were actually embedded in the victim's body.

Shortly thereafter, St Jude's hospital receives a bomb threat aimed at a specific operating theatre. Lieutenant Tom Royko (Judge Reinhold) of the Seattle bomb squad arrives in time to save the surgeon but not the patient. This high-tech terrorist has embedded explosives in the victim's pacemaker.

Now Lieutenant Royko finds himself in a race against time to track down the terrorist who has a deadly vendetta against renowned heart surgeon, Doctor Gillian Hayes (Penelope Ann Miller).

Persons of interest

Judge Reinhold .... Lieutenant Tom Royko
Penelope Ann Miller .... Doctor Gillian Hayes
Timothy Bushfield
Mark Rosman .... Screenwriter
Richard Ades .... Screenwriter
Paul Antier .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Studios and distributors:

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

A made-for-TV thriller that's actually quite thrilling.

You never quite know who's going to die (although you know who isn't, of course - this is Hollywood) which keeps you watching even when you've got better things to do.

Judge Reinhold (and who would name their kid after a judge? Can you imagine the teasing he went through at school? Here come de judge, here come de judge...) is suitably heroic with a few of those 90s twists: separated from wife, occasional carer of child, poor people skills, dry humour (as dry as humour gets in southern California). Penelope Ann Miller freaks out well: it's good to see a person competent in their own field go to pieces in another field. Of course their respective characters get together at the end, bad things never happen to married people in Hollywood, but it's only the promise of a date, not an actual date.

Security censorship classification

Surveillance time

90 minutes (1:30 hours)

Not for public release in Australia before date

VHS rental: 13 March 2002