The Road to Omaha

Ludlum trades spy thriller tension for slapstick satire in this sequel, and the result is surprisingly fun. Hapless Army lawyer Sam Devereaux gets dragged back into the orbit of the irrepressible General Hawkins, who has discovered a forgotten treaty giving a Native American tribe legal claim to Omaha — including a Strategic Air Command base. The comedic energy is relentless, and the satirical jabs at military bureaucracy and legal absurdity mostly land. What makes it linger is the genuine underlying question about treaty rights, slipped inside all the farce. It is broader and looser than Ludlum's espionage work, and the plot logic occasionally strains under the weight of its own absurdity. Adult fans of political comedy will enjoy it; expect laughs, not thrills.