Michael

This movie is an Allegory with a hidden message. Think of this movie in the same context as a "Music Video". A MV is intended to entertain, while delivering a message, feeling or an attitude and tug on your emotions through the music and images on the screen. Since the message is the purpose of this movie, the actors are not that important as they are only acting out images that carry the message. For this reason, there is no need to develop their characters and they come off as caricatures with no depth. A big name actor portrays the President yet he is given only a few lines of dialog. He too is a shallow character with no depth. And it is no coincidence that he kind of resembles Donald Trump. These two facts are important to the movie. No reason or cause is ever mentioned for the war. No political reason or overt act by either side is mentioned. Yet any discussion of the President is filled with extreme anger and hatred for the man for acts committed against the people. The reason he remains an undeveloped character is it is easier to hate someone you really don't know. Through out the movie, there is this heavy air of hatred, anger anguish, fear, pain and misery hanging over the characters. The music and the intense sounds of gunfire, combat and the sometimes stupid situations the characters put themselves in leaves one with a feeling that something horrible could happen at any moment and usually does. Yet when characters are killed, there is no impact as we really don't know or even care about them. The movie channels all these terrible emotions on to the President and he becomes the focus of the war. At times the movie takes on an almost fantasy or dream like feeling to the story line. This ties in with the "music video" theme and explains why parts of the story seem unrealistic or improbable. The film reaches its conclusion with soldiers storming the White House, dragging the whimpering President out from under his desk as he begs them not to kill him (as if he would have really remained in his office and not retreated to a secure bunker by this time) and they execute him. As the credits roll, a still photo comes into focus showing the soldiers who killed the President kneeling behind his body all with very wide smiles on their faces. The only moment in the film when anyone appears to be happy. So what is the meaning of this film? The message is: 1) This film is symbolic imagery of what we think a second Trump administration could look like and what it could do to our Country and you should be very afraid of this happening. 2) We really, really hate Trump and we think your should too. 3) In our wildest dreams and fantasies, we really wish this is how a second Trump Presidency could end. It would make us smile too. This is clearly a political film intended to convey a message of how horrible one candidate is and why you should fear and reject him. This is why it was released during an election year.