Def-Con 4 (1985)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Here's the thing I absolutely love B-Movies, horrible movies, and movies most people wold be embarrassed that they like. This movie just didn't get me. I couldn't go with the flaws. The synopsis says a "Few months later"... OMG it was like 30 hours later and already there are cannibals, new societies, people unable to bathe... I tried to ignore it but then it just got worse. Outside of the fact that radiation wold have wiped most out, well I just couldn't buy it all... and I tried. Bad, bad, bad...not good bad, just bad.

I saw this one when it first came out, back in the 80s and was looking for it to watch it again. I didn't think it was all that bad, I thought it was actually entertaining. The WW3 aftermath was much more realistic than in most other post-apocalyptic movies of the time. The beginning of the movie was really good but lost some steam towards the 2nd half. I especially liked the beginning, when the crew realized in horror that a nuclear war had broken out on the Earth below. Just as they are trying to decide if they should go back or not, the decision is made for them and they end up crash landing.Yes, the acting was mediocre at best, but that is to be expected in a low-budget movie with largely unknown actors. Taking that into consideration I thought it was done quite well. Compared to some of the stinkers that received high praises by the movie critics, this one would have been Oscar material. I would rather watch this one several times than having to watch Last Days all the way through one more time.*SPOILER* I vividly recall one scene, where the guy with the broken back is strapped to a board and being teased with a steak.

A group of American astronauts orbit the Earth in a top secret nuclear warhead carrying spaceship. Suddenly World War 3 breaks out down below and the ship is unexpectedly put into a program to land. On arrival on the planet, they are soon captured by a warlord who has emerged after the war.Def-Con 4 is a low budget Canadian attempt at a post-apocalyptic sci-fi action-thriller. These films were ten-a-penny back in the mid 80's. They were often low budget but full of enough action and violence to get away with it. This movie certainly fits the criteria but it fails to impress. I think this is due to a mix of things. The budget is perhaps TOO low, meaning that the sets are very limited. There are also no characters to get overly excited about. There's no one really worth rooting for and that doesn't help. And finally, the story line just seems so under-developed and almost random. It's taking the audiences credibility to the limit to think that the day after a nuclear war, the general population will resemble a Mad Max movie.Not terrible but not good. If you have a tolerance for cheesy and cheap 80's sci-fi movies then you could find something here of interest.

I always find it funny in these 80's post apocalyptic films that people can create makeshift bombs, build shelters, but can't fashion a spoon with which to eat! And the poster is completely misleading. Cool, sure. But neither the astronaut nor the ship resemble either of them actually used in the film... one could only hope.I saw this film when it first came out and the disappointment of my memory holds up today. Fortunately, I watched this for "free" as part of my Netflix membership with the Watch Now option. At least I could fast forward through the bad parts, which was once they got back to earth.If you like bad movies, you'll love this one.