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Poster for Countdown to Zero

Countdown to Zero

Demand Zero.

2010 · 1h 31m · PG Documentary
Directed by Lucy Walker

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Overview

Although the Cold War is behind us, the threat of nuclear disaster remains very real. Director Lucy Walker discusses the invention of the atomic bomb and brings the story into the present day, examining the possibility of nuclear calamity under the categories of "Madness," "Accident" and "Miscalculation." With narration by Gary Oldman, the film includes a hypothetical sequence of a nuclear explosion in New York City's Times Square, timed to coincide with the New Year's Eve countdown.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
80%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Comes loaded with a relatively big budget and a line-up of talking heads more powerful than a meeting of the Bilderberg Group.

Dave Calhoun, Time Out
Rotten

Like the ongoing threat itself, Countdown is simply numbing.

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Fresh

Countdown to Zero may not be the most fun you'll have in the movies this year, but it is absolutely mandatory viewing.

Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com
Fresh

Made-up horror movies have nothing on Countdown to Zero.

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
Fresh

The news is ugly. The film is often gorgeous and wields a cumulative power to humanize potential devastation.

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

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