HOLLYWOOD'S hottest acting talent Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn star in political thriller The Interpreter but unfortunately, the on-screen chemistry was lost in translation.

Individually, they were both sensational - particularly Penn - but I couldn't help feel disappointment at the lack of sizzle between them.

Silvia Broome (Kidman) is an African-born interpreter working for the United Nations in New York, who inadvertently hears a plot to assassinate the militant president of Matobo.

Realising she is also the target of the assassins, Silvia desperately tries to foil the plot before it is too late, while struggling to persuade jaded federal agent Tobin Keller (Penn) to believe her claims.

Exercising his expertise in the genre, director Sydney Pollack provides cinema-goers with an intelligent thriller, promising to keep fans of films such as The Bourne Identity guessing until the end.

As always, Penn turns out a flawless performance, perfecting his ability to have viewers laughing one minute and fight off tears the next, while Kidman is solid and believable in her role.

However, when you team modern celluloid's A-List with an Oscar winning director, surely it cannot be wrong to expect something extra-special - which sadly this is not.

EB