Doomsday Gun - Die Waffe des Satans

This movie sets out to tell the (more or less) true story of Canadian weapons designer Gerald Bull (Frank Langella), who dreams of building the world's most powerful artillery gun: hundreds of feet long and able to deliver a shell the size of a small building. The only problem? America and Great Britain don't want to finance his masterpiece and don't want Bull constructing one for anybody else. But Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is willing to pay for one, and able to get around the American embargo on selling weapons to Iraq by cleverly disguising the gun's parts as ordinary industrial equipment. But once Bull goes to work for Saddam, he sets himself as a target for international hit squads willing to do anything to keep such a weapon out of the wrong hands. He found himself playing cat-and-mouse, taking precautions to stay one step ahead of the world's intelligence agencies. This movie provides a pretty good reconstruction of the project, and the fact that the project was a quite chilling possibility gives the story much of its interest. Unlike the outlandish schemes of James Bond's usual adversaries, Bull's supergun was technically feasible and his customer, Saddam, was a very real threat to world peace. A decent way to pass the time for anybody looking for real life intelligence intrigue.

As an engineer's son, I have never seen a better portrayal of an engineer's enthusiasm for new problems and new challenges. In one unforgettable scene, Frank Langella brought to the screen for the first time in my opinion what can only be called, "the-joy-of-development."

Too often films that deal with invention focus on that moment when the problem comes together and is solved. What they fail to recognize is the first step, when the men and women are looking at the challenge ahead has even more emotional potential. Thankfully the writers and actors in this film did not forget this human truth.

The cast is excellent. The script is uneven, but the only reason this is obvious is because instead of staying mildly good throughout, like most made for cable films, this movie is mildly good with occasional scenes of brilliance.

If you are an engineer or just have one as a friend or member of the family, see this film. It's a wonder.

The only thing I can add is that as a Canadian, I continue to be disappointed in our Government protection of our fellow citizens. RIP Gerald Bull and William Sampson and all of you have been left behind.

Interesting fact based spy film with supposed allies backstabbing each other, each with their own agenda for using an engineer's gigantic gun he is developing. The long range implications for Middle East Countries is factored against the region's importance as an oil producer. Profit and greed is offset by the scientific drive of one man, who's vision is well beyond the present, possibly offering him the immortal recognition he desires. This is well acted, fast paced, and intriguing. There is even an open ended conclusion that begs discussion. The miniatures and computer renderings of the big guns are superbly done, and the film is relevant even with all the time that has passed. - MERK

One reviewer claimed that the idea of a Supergun was impractical due to the huge flame that could easily be observed from satellites, and that such a gun would take days to clean out and reload.

This is not correct.

A supergun can work, and is no more impractical than a fixed airbase or missile launch site.

The German superguns did work, and many rounds were fired both in testing and operationally - at Luxembourg.

Iran would have had difficulty destroying a firing site. Its ground attack capability was not good, and the gun itself would be a small target. Flames could not be seen from space, even if Iran did have a satellite over Iraq at the time of firing.

It would also have been an ideal weapon with which to launch projectiles against the state of Israel.