A documentary about the escalating nuclear arms race.
Countdown to Zero is fast-paced and absorbing, proving that Walker knows exactly how to draw her audience in.
Sobering stuff, especially when smart talkingheads – including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and ex-US Secretary Of Defence Robert McNamara – confirm it’s a matter of “when” not “if”. Eek.
Walker was Oscar nominated for Waste Land this year, and while this occasionally unfocused doc doesn't hit those heights, it's still a valuable and scary film that should be seen.
Lucy Walker's unsettling nuclear weapons documentary reignites old fears about terrorism by examining the old saw that dismantling weapons-grade material is unachievable.
The film's tales of accidents, miscommunications and near-misses are deeply unsettling, and proof, if it were needed, that the threat of nuclear destruction is one we can no longer ignore.
Near its end, the film moves into agitprop mode, making clear its agenda for the elimination of all nuclear weapons. If its tone becomes somewhat shrill at this point, it’s hard to disagree with its sentiment.
A worthy, important effort – but not a great one.
Very few films can be classified as unmissable, but this is one.
Walker forewarns about nukes in the wrong hands – rogue states, terrorists – but devotes the last part of her film to a galumphing restatement of the bleedin' obvious.
Its argument that Armageddon is right around the corner turns out to be about as terrifying as kittens cuffing a ball of wool.
Carefully and methodically shows how terrorism, human error or mechanical failure could wipe us out once and for all.
Skilfully crafted and smoothly assembled by London-born film maker Lucy Walker, the documentary Countdown to Zero raises the all but forgotten question of nuclear war and leaves us petrified, in almost no doubt it will happen.
Lucy Walker's Countdown to Annihilation is a Real Horror Film
Preview: Countdown to Zero
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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