While this TV-movie is by no means as good as Dante's later effort 'Small Soldiers', it is without question far superior to Barry Levinson's embarrasing (not to mention godawful and hamfisted) 'Wag the Dog'. It goes a bit over the top in preachiness at times, particularly in the James Earl Jones character's voice-over. This character's exchanges with techie Godfrey also tend towards the cloying. The good parts include Denis Leary's war-zone reporter, Ron Perlman's liberal arguing with a conservative colleague and Elizabet Peña's character's fight with the governor. As always with Dante, however, greatness is in the small things (Remember The cathedral of Saint Eva Marie?). The satire lies in the assumptions about the state of the world a few years from now. The scenes from LA, Rhode Island and the House of Representatives completely make up for any weaknesses in the film. Dig that meeting of the commanding officers of the opposing military forces! The supporting cast is littered with great names and great cameos, among them Dick Miller and Roger Corman.
Review of The Second Civil War
