shamrocks2121
This is one of those movies that could have (and should have) been picked up by a movie studio and done up to be an educational blockbuster, but for their own reasons (my guess is another attack) Hollywood never did. Which is a shame because it really is a story that does need to be told. Even more than "Finding Neverland" if you could believe it. Anyway, beside the premise for this movie which is a great one, this movie could have been a whole lot better - even for a made for TV movie. The cast is weak and the emotions they try and show look very overacted and fake. Probably the two best features of this film is seeing how the London police adapt all the technology that they used to use in tracking the IRA and apply it as best they can to the Muslim terrorists of today with mixed success. That and they teach how a terrorist cell is constructed and how it works. I realize that these plots are somewhat taboo in today's environment and a huge risk for a movie studio to risk a whole lot of money on, but this is a story that needs to be told and even though they tried as best they could, in the end they failed in this movie.
maskirovka77
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
MountainMan
Well this movie certainly was in keeping with the current times. No happy endings, super-heroes, or miracles here. Just down-to-earth fiction to stimulate our minds along the lines of terrorism, and what-ifs. Kudos to Percival and Mickery for an excellent screenplay and superb direction by Percival. Films like this are needed to keep us aware of what is out there. If every peace-loving man and woman on earth reported obviously suspicious activities I believe terrorism could not thrive. This movie showed just how hard it really is to subvert these terrorists, even with good intelligence. Even though the film is a bit propagandist against Islam (the use of a Muslim police officer as a main character) I believe it was entirely realistic. There was meant to be shock-value in the bombing incident. As a very clever tool to relay the humility and indignity of people caught up in an attack such as this, they showed full nudity of women being decontaminated post-attack. It didn't take me long to realize that this was meant to even further instill into the viewer that thought, i.e., we are not in control of everything in a situation like this. Although this took place in London, with the usual high-level British acting, it makes a statement for any part of the world. Great movies don't have to be blockbuster epic productions, and this movie is very very worthy of viewing.
cav427
Dirty Bomb does an excellent job of illustrating how the public would panic if a Dirty Bomb was detonated, but does a poor job on the technical side by overstating the dangers of the radioactive substances released by such a device. The writer has a poor handle on the measurement of radioactivity, and adds to the scare by being non descript as to the substances used. I was disappointed with the portrayal of emergency services and how the leaders where willing to pull back crews so quickly after the event, I feel they would actually be much more heroic as a whole, and not as scared as they where portrayed. Relistically speaking, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were subject to the release of a lot more radioactive substances and radiation than any dirty bomb would ever release, and they where rebuilt within a few years, and people live there today. Despite the technical inaccuracy, The movie does illustrate terrorists greatest tool, the ability to instill a sense of panic in the public.
AD
