‘War Game’ Review – Truth Is Scarier Than Fiction In High-Stakes Look At Threats To American Democracy

In the past few years, the immediacy with which our government can act and a president can make decisions has been displayed. Whether on the international scope or the domestic front, a crisis can emerge without cause and certainly without fair warning. The film War Game taps into that scenario with an in-depth documentary that, while posing a fictional situation, illustrates the realistic options available in a full-scale constitutional crisis like what happened on January 6th, 2021. In a documentary that plays like a high-stakes political thriller, directors Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss show the real-world consequences of action and inaction. By using actual defense, intelligence, and elected officials to portray fictional characters, they map out the response time and path it would take to save American democracy in the event of an attempted coup.

War Game is a documentary that plays out like a heart-racing thriller. In the wake of January 6th, three former generals penned an op-ed expressing concern over the safety of the 2024 Election. Their fear drew from the 2021 Insurrection and fear that a potential coup against the United States could come from parts of the active military. They suggested that the government essentially play a war game involving a possible scenario where parts of the military took part in a coup to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.

Our tenuous political reality makes this documentary feel less like a simulation and more like a trial run. The directors paint an objective and brief look at the challenges and choices facing decision-makers if God forbid another insurrection occurs in the aftermath of the 2024 election. Political junkies will thrill at the 24-style approach to storytelling. However, this is no drama. This is a warning for vigilance and action.

In 2021, America watched as a threat nearly sabotaged the peaceful transfer of power. We watched on our TVs a harrowing display of unpatriotic behavior layered in the falsities of a stolen election claim. In War Game, the directors have taken the tenor to a new and jolting level. The film proposes a scenario in which a losing presidential candidate in 2024 did not accept their defeat. The candidate uses the loss as a signal for disruption, revolt, and chaos. The film asks what would happen if, in this actuality, active military members broke from the chain of command and went rogue in the pursuit of believing in a stolen election claim. The result is an electoral nightmare closer to reality than fiction. This is January 6th on steroids.

War Game is a scenario that shows the hypothetical challenges before decision-makers to stabilize the country and prevent all-out civil war. The filmmakers use January 6th to set the stage and show a harrowing hypothetical worst-case scenario. This film serves as a clarion call for vigilance and explains why truth must not and can never be subjective.

Part of the genius of this documentary is its involvement of real-life political and military actors in the scenario. Former Montana Governor Steve Bullock plays a fictional President of the United States. In addition, retired General Wesley Clarke plays a fictional Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp plays an advisor to the fictional president. All three of these individuals have been involved at all levels of decision-making. Here, they are attempting to prevent the country from devolving into chaos. Their experience allows for a first-hand look at the response times and clinical decisions in the event of a coup against the government. Their first-hand know-how gives the piece authenticity.

Instead of seating a group of dignitaries in a room for one-on-one interviews and analysis, the real genius of War Game is mapping out the response as if it were happening. While playing fictional players, these individuals, whether as governors or former generals, understand explicitly the complexity of volatile situations. In a way, despite this being an exercise, this film is no game. While the entire narrative is predicated on hypotheticals, the response is far from theoretical. Ultimately, that makes War Game riveting but also bone-chillingly profound.

In addition to showing the lens of decision-makers, the documentary also posits the actions of insurrectionists. The film points out the response of those in authority and those who seek to disrupt and destroy the system. The film creates a fake extremist group, but it is based on real-life organizations and composites of the varied players involved on January 6th. We all remember the whiplash of January 6th and the rampant flow of information and misinformation. This documentary boldly shows what would happen in a situation spiraling out of control. The dizzying flow of information creates a paralysis regarding the democratic engine and even the ability to calm the waters. I was left breathless. On a powder keg, the one who holds the matches determines all the power.

Senator Heitkamp puts it bluntly: The probability of a coup in the United States is unlikely, but it is still possible. That is a sobering fact that should stay with all Americans. Failure of imagination is the blueprint of inaction. Through the documentary, the ghosts of January 6th, 2021, hang over the entire exercise. That day is the reason for the film and the situation’s existence. America today finds itself in a precarious position.

Politics is a dividing line more than ever. Deception mires truth in a cobweb. Uncertainty feels more and more like the order of the day. War Game does not propose to answer all the questions or erase doubts.

However, its sole purpose underscores a fact profoundly paramount to this country today. Unity and truth must triumph over division and deceit.
Better said are the words stitched in the jacket of Abraham Lincoln, One Country, One Destiny. In this election and beyond, we as America would be wise to heed those words.

War Game is currently playing in theaters in New York courtesy of Submarine Entertainment. The film will expand to additional markets including Los Angeles and Chicago on August 9, 2024.