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by westpfelia 224 days ago
Hard disagree. I think the point is that as a nation and a world if something like this were to happen there are no good or easy answers. The movie doesnt have a concrete ending because it doesnt need one. Any single nation firing a nuclear missle at America (or any major nation) would change the world forever. Successful or not.

Real life isnt a Tom Clancy novel. Jack Ryan wont save the day.
2 comments
PleasureBot 224 days ago
The premise of the movie doesn't make any sense. There is no pressure to retaliate to a single nuclear missile launched at Chicago within the 18 minute flight of the missile. The only scenario that introduces a minutes-long decision window is if the US nuclear capability is in imminent danger, which it obviously is not from a single missile headed for Chicago. What any person not following a Hollywood script would do is wait few hours for credible intelligence, coordinate with other nuclear powers to avoid escalation, and wipe out whoever conducted the attack. Its a movie that only works if you don't think about it, which is a major problem because it is trying to be thought provoking.
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andsoitis 224 days ago
> The premise of the movie doesn't make any sense. There is no pressure to retaliate to a single nuclear missile launched at Chicago within the 18 minute flight of the missile.

You don’t think it is plausible for the US detection systems to be offline, inaccurate, or unmanned?

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PleasureBot 223 days ago
That's not what I said. I said the movie creates a false sense of urgency when the decision-making window is measured in hours or days, not 18 minutes.
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pickleglitch 224 days ago
> Real life isnt a Tom Clancy novel. Jack Ryan wont save the day.

What made this movie suspenseful* for me was not how realistic it was, but how only half of it was realistic and the other half was completely disconnected from reality. A random incoming nuke of unknown origin, I can easily buy that happening. A deliberative process among highly competent officials deciding on a response, sorry but that is just not real life. Maybe it was at some point in our past, but certainly not in 2025.

As for the ending, it felt like a cop-out to me, but it didn't really matter to me.

*suspenseful, but not good.

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