Doomsday Gun

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

I enjoyed this movie because I can vaguely remember the circumstances surrounding his death and the noticeable lack of attention paid to it in Canada. The story is interesting and the character study is fascinating. I thought that Frank Langella was right for the role. Not only is he relatively unknown by Hollywood standards, he is also Canadian. This is a case where a man's dream to build the biggest and best arms overrides his sense of morality.He was willing to sell his technology to anyone regardless of how it would be used. He wasn't interested in profit - it was all in the interest of personal aggrandizement. The movie probably could have been better (at least in the glitzy Hollywood sense) but the story is told in a fairly straightforward and interesting manner allowing the viewer to decide for him/herself about ends versus means.

I found this to be very interesting. It was straight Forward and nothing added or omitted made it even better. The acting was good and the story made you wonder: would you do the same thing? After watching this, I was reminded that so many of the nations that hate us, we have helped create. As it said at the end "It is estimated that almost $3 million dollars of taxpayer money was sent to Iraq to arm them". The United States creates these monsters and then ends up having to face them. We did the same thing in Afghanstan in the name of National Pride. By arming the rebels who eventually became the Taliban, It became the mistake that came back and bite us on the ass. Now our Troops are paying for it. I really liked this movie.

Just a quibble to correct Jonathan from Hoboken's identification of Gerry Bull as an America. He was Canadian (you can even see him brandishing his Canadian passport in the final airport scene with Price (Spacey) near the end.) Gerry Bull was an inconvenient Canadian, in that he thought too big for a Canadian, and, like many other Canadians of talent and vision, eventually had to leave the country to achieve what he wanted. He was a brilliant supersonic aerodynamics engineer, who had contributed to the Avro Arrow program, and had run HARP (High Altitude Research Program) which had been, ahem, aimed at achieving spaceflight using guns, a la Jules Verne. It had operated the original 'supergun' in the Caribbean, with battleship guns put end to end. Bull gave up on Canada when Canada gave up on him, and that's when he became the international long-range artillery guy, selling his expertise to whoever paid - Israel, South Africa, Iraq. I figure if Israel could knock out Saddam's Osirak nuclear plant with an air strike, it wouldn't be past them to knock off the guy about to give Saddam a supergun with which to shell Tel Aviv.

The movie, though heavy on the CIA-is-the-root-of-all-evil conspiracy theories, was entertaining and not that bad, especially as a made-for-TV job, with, I thought, pretty good casting (I always like Michael Kitchen).

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.