Starring: Rob Lowe, Will Rothhaar, Ginnifer Goodwin, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jack Noseworthy, Casey Siemaszko
Director: Nelson McCormick
Rated: TV-14
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: February 11, 2014
Run Time: 87 / 90 minutes
Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars
“Killing Kennedy” is based on the 2012 non-fiction book of the same title by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. The film premiered on National Geographic Channel on November 10, 2013. It stars Rob Lowe as President John F. Kennedy, Will Rothhaar as Lee Harvey Oswald, Ginnifer Goodwin as Jacqueline Kennedy, Michelle Trachtenberg as Marina Oswald and Will Rothhaar as Lee Harvey Oswald. Produced by the late Tony Scott (“Unstoppable”) and Ridley Scott (“Prometheus”). I enjoyed the film but I did feel like it had too much a TV movie quality about it. It did have great performances from everyone in the cast. I was interested to see what Lowe could do with JFK and he nailed it.
Official Premise: The film traces the chilling events leading up to the gunshot heard around the world: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas in 1963. As John F. Kennedy (Lowe) rises to become U.S. president, a former Marine grows disillusioned with America. But when their paths ultimately cross, the course of history is changed forever in a chilling aftermath.
When “Killing Kennedy” aired on National Geographic, it ran about 88 minutes without commercials. The made-for-TV thriller is presented here with an never-before-seen extended cut, which runs about three minutes extra. Fox delivered this Blu-ray with an HD Digital Ultraviolet copy as well. The 1080p transfer is solid for a TV movie and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 works well creating the thrilling drama. In terms of special features, there is “Killing Kennedy: An Interview with Author Bill O’Reilly”, which gives good insight into the story. There is also a featurette “The Kennedy Mystique”. Both of these are work checking out for history junkies, no question.
