In this overwrought drama by novelist and screenwriter Wallace (Braveheart
; Pearl Harbor
; etc.), America is pitted against the European powers—only it's not the age of electronic eavesdropping and weapons of mass destruction but the year 1774, with razor-sharp sabers and good old-fashioned ear-to-the-door spycraft reigning supreme. Benjamin Franklin sends Kieran Selkirk, a young, courageous Virginia-born soldier, to Russia in the hopes of persuading Catherine the Great to spurn British requests for soldiers to help suppress the American colonies' rebellion. With the aid of disgraced Russian nobleman Gorlov, Selkirk blazes a triumphant path through the snowy Russian landscape, garnering acclaim for his military prowess and bold tongue. In true big-screen fashion, he bravely battles wolves in the harsh countryside on a breathless sleigh dash, fights Cossacks, learns of British intrigue, encounters beautiful women from almost every European nation and spreads good wherever he goes. Wallace writes with a melodramatic hand, as if every word carries great import, and his characters are either cartoonish or underdeveloped, with few leaving an impression. Readers will find it a stretch to believe that this single American, despite his quick blade and quicker mind, can really change the destiny of his homeland. Still, the novel should make a fine movie. Agent, Mel Berger. (Sept. 9)
