Movie Review: WAR GAME

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: September 27th, 2024 / 04:56 AM

WAR GAME movie poster | ©2024 Submarine Deluxe

Stars: Chris Jones, Kris Goldsmith, Ralph Brown, Janessa Goldbeck, Gov. Steve Bullock, Maj. Gen. Linda Singh (MD Arng., ret.), Elizabeth Neumann, David Priess, Joe Reeder, Sen. Doug Jones, Sgt. Major Marshall “Will” Williams (USA, ret.), Gen. Wesley Clark (USA, ret.), Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan (USA, ret.), Ben Radd, Eric Schmeltzer, Samantha Libraty, Bill Kristol, Isha Sesay, Peter Strozk, Louis Caldera, Gwen Camp, Lt. Gen. Alexander Vindman (USA, ret.), Doug Wilson, Fred Wellman, Chris Coffey, Jack T. Tomarchio, Gary Perez, Doug Gordon
Writers: Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss
Directors: Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber
Distributor: Submarine Deluxe
Release Date: September 27, 2024 (digital)

The new film WAR GAME is technically a documentary. Written and directed by Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss, it is unusual in subject matter, style and personnel.

Opening credits and voiceover explain that Vet Voice, a non-partisan organization for U.S. military veterans, organized and staged a national security exercise on Jan. 6, 2023.

This came after three retired U.S. generals penned an op-ed in THE WASHINGTON POST, expressing concern about insurrectionists in the current active-duty U.S. military. One of the generals’ recommendations was that the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security run a war game of what that might look like and what the implications would be.

So, a lot of retired U.S. military personnel, former elected officials and White House staffers were brought together to play, for example, newly re-elected U.S. President Rotham (real former Governor of Montana Steve Bullock), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark), senior advisor to the President (former North Dakota U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp), and many more.

The exercise in WAR GAME is unscripted. The concept is that the “actors” will use their lived experience and expertise to inform the opinions and actions of their characters. (Onscreen titles tell us everyone’s real identities and who/what they’re playing.) The Vet Voice team was given permission to record the exercise.

In the war game, President Rotham’s election, won by a slim margin, is being challenged as a sham. Just as on Jan. 6, 2021, violent protesters have converged on the D.C. Mall and elsewhere to prevent Congressional certification of the vote. There is evidence that some insurrectionists are within the U.S. military. Rotham and his team have six hours to prevent civil war.

All of the participants dive in with commendable sincerity. They look, sound and act exactly like what we would expect of officials, generals, and advisors in the Situation Room, each propounding his or her point of view with earnest conviction, and some taking offense at each other at perceived insults.

We also get insights from Chris Jones and Kris Goldsmith, who are playing insurrectionist disinformation operatives, and who appear to have a strong grasp of how all of this works. They explain to the camera why they are doing what they are doing.

Indeed, a surprising (and perhaps dismaying) amount of consideration is given to what is really happening vs. how it’s being reflected on social media, and tactics vs. optics. They government is dealing with everything from fake casualty reports to Facebook posts, and it’s hard to sort out the truth.

Additionally, we hear from USMC veteran Janessa Goldbeck, one of the role game’s producers (who plays the Arizona governor), and game designer Ben Radd about why they were inspired to create the project.

WAR GAME is that rare film that feels too short. We’d actually like to know more about what goes into the decision-making (particularly that of the President, who unlike his advisors is not obliged to fully explain himself), and also more about what happens when troops loyal to the government clash with comrades loyal to the opposition.

WAR GAME ends with a postscript informing us that Vet Voice is providing White House, Pentagon and Congress with confidential analysis of war game. We’d like to be privy to that analysis ourselves. Meanwhile, this provides a lot of food for thought.

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Unusual documentary with a what-if insurrection scenario

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