I was excited to find the Fail Safe DVD because of all the great actor names involved. An absolute power-house cast. However, this was one movie which should have been done primarily with unknowns. It had a moral message to deliver, and most of the actors had very little reason to be there. I liked Dreyfuss, Elliott and Dennehy (and Keitel, a bit, and Clooney, a bit), but the rest were wasted and had hardly anything to do. The movie was very low-key, sporting an outdated narrative style. A disappointment, overall.
Turning to the moral message; for a President to order the nuking of one of his own major cities is totally unbelievable. However, the movie was like a stage play with the message that the only truly ethical thing to do in such a situation would be this. Which is, I think, an acceptable message for the movie to have, even if it is rather far-fecthed in terms of the real world. So the plot itself was okay, but the style of execution was no success as far as I am concerned, and my disappointment in a project so packed with great actors remains substantial. It was an interesting exercise, but I can't recommend buying the DVD. Maybe catch the movie on TV sometime instead.
My rating: 6 out of 10.
Turning to the moral message; for a President to order the nuking of one of his own major cities is totally unbelievable. However, the movie was like a stage play with the message that the only truly ethical thing to do in such a situation would be this. Which is, I think, an acceptable message for the movie to have, even if it is rather far-fecthed in terms of the real world. So the plot itself was okay, but the style of execution was no success as far as I am concerned, and my disappointment in a project so packed with great actors remains substantial. It was an interesting exercise, but I can't recommend buying the DVD. Maybe catch the movie on TV sometime instead.
My rating: 6 out of 10.