I thought that "Dirty War" was an extremely scary, very well-made thriller about a scenario that I pray to God doesn't happen in London, Washington DC, or anywhere else. Unlike another reviewer here, I didn't have any problem with the cinematography and high production values.
I do find myself wondering if any expert on radiation and "dirty bombs" has weighed in about the science of "Dirty War" (i.e. how plausible the scenario was). For myself, I found myself wondering if one thing that was not shown was people simply vomiting by the truckload from radiation sickness.
I also enjoyed the police hunt for the terrorists. I found the scene where the police discovered the second van and its dirty bomb to be unbearably tense (it reminded me of a similar scene in a similar American movie called "Special Bulletin" about nuclear terrorism).
I also appreciated the scene that showed the Scotland Yard officer in essence torturing one of the terrorists in a desperate attempt to get information about follow-up attacks. I know that purists in the National Council for Civil Liberties, Amnesty International, the Amnerican Civil Liberties Union would condemn such acts, but if something like this happened in real life in the USA, I would form a legal defense committee for the police officer and petition Congress to give him a medal.
The bottom line is that when the stakes are as high as shown in "Dirty War," the ends DO justify the means. I'm not happy about saying that, but if forcing a terrorist to talk would avert something so terrible, I'd enthusiastically support it. As someone once said, "The innocent have more rights than the guilty." On a final note, I did not have a problem with the "message" that there are "good Muslims" who despise al-Qaeda and everything Osama Bin Laden stands for (I just wish they'd be more outspoken). At least BBC and HBO had the guts to make a movie where the terrorists were actually cast out of reality as opposed to the fantasy neo-Nazis that Hollywood substituted for Islamic terrorists in "the Sum of All Fears." Anyway, I thought it was a great movie
I do find myself wondering if any expert on radiation and "dirty bombs" has weighed in about the science of "Dirty War" (i.e. how plausible the scenario was). For myself, I found myself wondering if one thing that was not shown was people simply vomiting by the truckload from radiation sickness.
I also enjoyed the police hunt for the terrorists. I found the scene where the police discovered the second van and its dirty bomb to be unbearably tense (it reminded me of a similar scene in a similar American movie called "Special Bulletin" about nuclear terrorism).
I also appreciated the scene that showed the Scotland Yard officer in essence torturing one of the terrorists in a desperate attempt to get information about follow-up attacks. I know that purists in the National Council for Civil Liberties, Amnesty International, the Amnerican Civil Liberties Union would condemn such acts, but if something like this happened in real life in the USA, I would form a legal defense committee for the police officer and petition Congress to give him a medal.
The bottom line is that when the stakes are as high as shown in "Dirty War," the ends DO justify the means. I'm not happy about saying that, but if forcing a terrorist to talk would avert something so terrible, I'd enthusiastically support it. As someone once said, "The innocent have more rights than the guilty." On a final note, I did not have a problem with the "message" that there are "good Muslims" who despise al-Qaeda and everything Osama Bin Laden stands for (I just wish they'd be more outspoken). At least BBC and HBO had the guts to make a movie where the terrorists were actually cast out of reality as opposed to the fantasy neo-Nazis that Hollywood substituted for Islamic terrorists in "the Sum of All Fears." Anyway, I thought it was a great movie