War Book

2014

1 hr. 32 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

78%

9 Reviews

Tomatometer

64%

50+ Ratings

Audience Score

Government officials practice for a nuclear threat.

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Zachary G

I very much enjoyed watching War book, it gave me the distinct impression of how these sort of scenarios would actually play out. Especially the way they play top level civil servants stretched beyond their normal duties, and how quickly order can break down in crises. All of the actors in this were fantastic, there were some slower weaker moments, but none that ruined my overall experience of the film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/30/23

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Audience Member

A dose of realism brilliantly performed and extremely cathartic. A Stellar cast and I lament the fact that there are so few quality screen plays of this kind. RT Critic states that it is reminiscent of an episode of West Wing - probably why our viewing fodder, these days, is so obviously dumbed down. Just take 2 minutes to THINK

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

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farah r

Very thought provoking and intriguing.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

A tight low budget drama which is very reminiscent of the likes of '12 Angry Men' and 'Margin Call'. Largely the dialogue is sharp and thought provoking, the periods in which exterior issues are brought in are where the picture loses its power.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Audience Member

If you can withstand some of the political jargon, this is a very interesting political drama. It's all theory, but it does bring up some thought-provoking issues about armageddon.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Audience Member

Excellent premise and not a bad cast. Characters, however, are lazy stereotypes of three stupid lecherous/dogmatic/self-serving white men with one emotional but principled working-class hero amid a room of reasonable ethnic minorities and women (except for one unreasonably patriotic Theresa May clone) . Nothing wrong with diversity, of course, except that this is supposedly the British Civil Service, where diversity equates to old boys in their fifties from more than one public school. Much more seriously, however, the logic around the table which leads to the supposedly stark final conclusion makes no sense whatsoever, except to conveniently support the very obvious views of the writers. No prizes for guessing which character the audience is supposed to side with in the end. This play is complacent, didactic preaching disguised inside a morass of contrived plot devices to make it appear even-handed and deeply meaningful. It is neither. I'm not a fan of nuclear weapons myself, but this almost had me reaching for the button.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Tom Harper

Director

Phoebe Fox

Kate

Ben Chaplin

Gary

Sophie Okonedo

Philippa

Kerry Fox

Maria

Shaun Evans

Tom

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David Jenkins

Little White Lies

The artifice of the whole thing often overwhelms.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 7, 2015

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Mike McCahill

Guardian

Harper's framing is always dynamic, and often pointed: each glimpse of life passing blithely by this room's only window provides a sobering reminder of the extent to which we're at the mercy of those who would govern us.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 6, 2015

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CJ Sheu

Review Film Review

War Book suggests that democracy can be killed by unstoppable momentum.

Sep 10, 2020

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Ard Vijn

ScreenAnarchy

Director Tom Harper paces the film expertly, never allowing the proceedings to get sedate (let alone boring). Some extremely sobering facts even manage to get the tension up.

Jan 10, 2020

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Tom Bond

One Room With A View

There is a rare focus and ruthless quality in this low-budget indie that deserves and demands your attention.

Rated: 5/5

May 31, 2019

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John Bleasdale

CineVue

It begins to resemble a poorly thought-out episode of the The West Wing -- with geopolitical realities subordinate to soapy backstory.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 6, 2019

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Synopsis

Government officials practice for a nuclear threat.

Director: Tom Harper
Executive Producer: Daniel Baur, Mike Brett, Steve Jamison, Ivana Mackinnon, Oliver Simon
Screenwriter: Jack Thorne
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English