The Brink of War

A film caught in its own history with no greater addition to stakes or interesting stories to tell.
Performances feel more like impersonations than re-enactments.
Clichés are piled upon each other for easy and obvious markers of success than actual gray area and subtlety.

Reagan talks about how the US is a land of immigrants, I wish the current president would think the same

Yay! They ended the Cold War!!! 🎊 🎉

I can usually excuse a fair bit of 'typical' and 'expected' propaganda, but this is one of those cases where I feel the need to call it out. The filmmakers' motives are as clear as daylight, and I fear that if it's not obvious to you, whether you enjoyed the film or not, then you are the target audience. Besides that, I think the film's biggest issue is its main character, Jeff Daniels, more so than Reagan. I just couldn't envision him as Reagan, whereas Harris blows it out of the park as Gorbachev. Some of the dialogue and quotes are brilliant and quite shocking when contrasted with the standards of modern-day Conservatives. All in all, it feels more like a Ronald Reagan campaign ad than a historical account of the event.

"A system, no matter fascist or communist that subjugates every citizen denying them not just basic rights, but their God-given free will is a threat not just to one nation, but eventually to all nations."