Remember years back when generic foods first hit the market? They were in those plain, white packages with the words “ketchup” or “beer” printed in bold, black letters on the side.

That was it. No fancy graphics or designs, just black and white.

The posters for “The Peacemaker” should be plain white paper with the words “action movie” printed in the middle in bold, black letters.

That’s it. No fancy graphics or designs. Just black and white, because “The Peacemaker” is completely generic.

While watching this movie, I got the feeling I had seen it all before. Sort of a deja-vu thing. It’s full of tired action-movie cliches and oh-isn’t-that-convenient moments.

Plus, there wasn’t any time when I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen next.

I’ll bet he gets shot.

BANG!

I’ll bet that helicopter blows up.

BOOM!

George Clooney stars as the military guy with a mission. He has to locate and recover 10 stolen nuclear warheads from a bunch of terrorists.

His sidekick is the lovely Nicole Kidman, who works in the White House to help track the smuggling of nuclear weapons.

Hmm … good looking male lead, attractive female lead. I wonder if they’ll get together? If you have ever seen a movie in your entire life, you know the answer to that question.

Clooney does a pretty good job as the likable rogue with his own unorthodox methods. He has a very easy going style.

Following the general action- movie blueprint, after the warheads are stolen the good guys have to figure out where the bad guys are. Then they pursue them and there’s a final showdown.

The showdown of “The Peacemaker” isn’t exciting at all. The terrorist heads to New York City where he plans to blow up the United Nations building with a stolen warhead. So there’s a chase through the streets of the city, all leading up to diffusing a bomb.

The bomb comes complete with a digital readout so you know exactly how long before the boom. Talk about the ultimate cliche. Hmm … I wonder if they’ll stop the bomb in time to save New York.

Now that would be a movie. They don’t stop the bomb in time, the nuclear blast levels the city and kills millions. But you know that isn’t going to happen, which makes the final act a bit dull.

It sounds like I’m being really negative about this film. There’s nothing horrible about it. So I’ll say something nice.

The movie is visually good- looking. Some scenes are very stylishly done. Of course, that’s a bit like saying a blind date has a nice personality.

It boils down to this: “The Peacemaker” is not a good movie. It is not bad. It just is.

2 1/2 stars out of five.

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Mike Milik is a senior in advertising from West Des Moines.