The Kidd Vs. Countdown To Zero
It’s fitting that the same producing team, Participant Media, that was behind AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH is behind COUNTDOWN TO ZERO, because COUNTDOWN does for nuclear weapons what TRUTH did for global warming/climate change. It takes the sobering facts of what’s going on in the world, presents them for you to see how it’ll affect your life, and then proceeds to scare the shit out of you with the consequences we’ll all be collectively facing if things don’t change quickly. The result is a fairly intense exploration of the nuclear threats that face the world on a daily basis that is most effective when it’s presenting numbers and scientific testimony and hard data. At times, COUNTDOWN TO ZERO can get too preachy, as if you’re being scolded by your parents for not knowing all of this information, and it relies a bit too heavily at times on the general population’s lack of knowledge about anything that’s going on in the world of nuclear weapons, continuously going to man-on-the-street interviews that add nothing to the overall argument that the only way for the world to ever truly be safe is eliminate all nuclear weapons. What am I supposed to get out of some regular guy on a New York City street corner, and his inability to tell me how many nuclear weapons are in the world, or how many countries have them?
COUNTDOWN TO ZERO is able to get across its message by letting me know that, if a nuclear weapon were ever to detonate, the 650 mph winds generated would wipe out everything within a 5-mile blast radius, and, if I managed to survive that, the extreme temperatures would be what really got to me, vaporizing me to nothing instantly. Or perhaps it really got The Kidd paying attention by analyzing the various times over the years that the United States nearly engaged in full-blown nuclear war, due to an accident or a miscalculation or the attempts of crazy people to kill as many Americans as possible. Even the computer models of what the blast radiuses would look like in different cities and how quickly it would affect the surrounding areas really hits you hard, and it should. When it comes to nuclear war, this is the end-all and be-all of our world. In the event that a launch ever occurred, there’s no real escape. We’re pretty much all going to die… and should we somehow survive, things are pretty bleak. I saw THE ROAD… I saw MAD MAX… it’s not a bright future, and, since the United States has the lion’s share of weapons, estimated at somewhere near 1500, we are a major target as well as one of the main offenders when it comes to nuclear capabilites.
COUNTDOWN TO ZERO doesn’t need to incorporate any tricks in presenting its material, and while it adds a bit more than Al Gore’s simple slideshow presentation, it doesn’t have to. In those moments, ZERO’s attempts at style take away from the substance, where its focus should remain at all times. I don’t need to visually see a tennis ball to know its size when I’m told that a bomb the size of one could make our way of live disappear. Knowing that a bomb the size of a tennis ball could do that sort of damage is enough for me. Colorful charts and graphics serve as a distraction that takes my focus away from what COUNTDOWN TO ZERO wants me to know – that nuclear weapons are bad, and we must get rid of every last one of them, or else I run the risk of having my face melted off down the road.
COUNTDOWN presents experts in the fields of nuclear technology as well as terrorism to lay out what our concerns should really be, both in the United States and abroad, and listening to them speak on the topic is fascinating, yet simultaneously frightening. They know what they’re talking about, and it’s a matter of getting people in power to follow through on their advice before it’s too late. In that respect, COUNTDOWN TO ZERO really gets you wondering about the true nature of war, and what price are we willing to pay in order to win sometimes. COUNTDOWN TO ZERO presents an ideal utopian solution, which is the elimination of all nuclear weapons, something I’m not sure we’ll ever see in many lifetimes beyond mine. I just wish the film would have stuck more with hammering home the hard data and the sickening reality of the damage a nuclear weapon would cause in trying to rally support for non-proliferation. The message of COUNTDOWN TO ZERO is crystal clear, but it’s the execution that is inconsistent from time to time. I think you should definitely go out and see the documentary, because knowledge is power, and you really should be aware of what’s happening in the world around you. However, be prepared for an unbalanced film at times that strays from its most effective tactics from time to time to its own detriment.
