Ever had the feeling that life is just one long B-movie ? Well, thanks to a certain inflammatory rhetoric adopted by the Forty-Fifth Leader of the Free World during the summer of his first year in office, this particular low-budget production was on the brink of becoming one of the first fulfilled apocalyptic prophecies outside the Book of Revelation. Indeed, as two legendary Jewish sages of the Sixties famously sang, "the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls" - or, in this case, inscribed on celluloid. A rather dark and ironic twist on the age-old adage of life imitating art. "Make America Afraid Again" - and drag the rest of humanity along for the ride, while you're at it. As it currently stands, the review-page counts about eighty entries, all stemming from before the above-mentioned event(s) even took place, roughly half of which are rather harsh, basically trashing the film as being somewhat implausible, to say the very least. I sincerely wonder whether these reviewers (whose fairness, astute and intelligent observations, depth of insight, and power of perception I in no way doubt, by the way) still feel the same way today, in light of everything that came to pass in the meantime on the world's political stage.

As for a movie, technically, it was great.Well written script, that started very innocently and quickly snowballed into a nightmare. It is strange that the entire movie was shot on one stage... the diner... but yet at the same time sent you around the world.Acting was good and believable with even a bit of humor sprinkled in.The thought that ordinary every-day citizens could sit over the President's shoulder in the middle of a crises is interesting. Which ones of us have never said.... "If I were there, I would have told the President this or that"? So the movie was was technically well done.After watching it today I have a sick feeling in my stomach. Although well done, it was very irresponsible. The U.S. drops a nuclear bomb on a city, destroying it and it's citizens. Though some discomfort with the decision is shown by the President, ultimately he is made out to be some sort of hero. Don't get me wrong... I feel that some sort of retaliation would be in order... but the use of nuclear weapons as a preemptive strike is something that can never be done by a peaceful civilization. And to make a movie about it... that in many ways glorifies it... is irresponsible.I think it interesting that this movie was made almost 10 years ago. Where since a President (George W. Bush) was faced with a similar crises, (9-11) and chose to deal with it, without nuclear weapons. To sum it up... an interesting movie, that was well done, but was horrifically irresponsible, and should have never been made. I will copy and paste this over to the forums, as I am sure some will want to reply.

Usually when watching a film, you have a sense of what it's TRYING to achieve.So cue stock footage and sound clips of previous presidents, set scene in diner cut of from contact with world. Expect mounting claustrophobia, pressure to make decisions without full knowledge of situations, interplay between personalities in a pressure cooker environment.Here decisions are made at a drop of a hat, interplay is reduced to "I must register my disagreement, Sir" and pressure is at a near climax when the waitress interrupts to refill the coffee.This film starts sounding like a dove, flaps like a hawk but then wanders off like a turkey!

I was pretty shocked when I saw the overall IMDb rating and the negative user comments. Considering the "one set" limitation - you have to have some pretty good character / dialogue to maintain interest - and I thought the film kept up just the right amount of tension until the truly shocking end - see recent events in Iraq.I thought the whole point was that the US was threatened during the re-election phase of a President out to prove his metal - Pollack was brilliant.Its set in a Diner so that the President is FORCED to listen to Joe and Joanna Public - likewise they get to see the inhuman pressures put upon the person in that Office.Who cares if the bloody B2 looked like an F17 or whatever the bloody plane is supposed to be THAT AIN'T GONNA RUIN THE MOVIE - it was made on a shoestring and is a great example of how to make a substantial picture without spending millions of dollars. It gains gravity from the storyline rather than an A list cast. A strong, gripping film that seems to have grown in relevance over the years.