I saw the movie the two times it ran way back when. At the time, I thought it was a neat parallel world tale and an interesting alternate take on espionage flicks. The notion of a conservative, openly fascistic takeover of the US, shredding the Constitution, and preserving its rule by an internal security force capable of creating hoaxes to turn the public against outsiders.... well, at the time, it sure looked like scifi!
Sadly, we now know better. The film is a chilling, Nostradamus-like tale about Bush/Cheney, Homeland Security, the Patriot Act, and all the rest of the evil that has been foisted upon America these past three years. The climax of the film, in which Internal Security agents plan to commit an atrocity and blame it on the underground, is disturbingly close to something Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Ridge might plan. After all, an "al Quaeda" terrorist attack, "successfully foiled" by Homeland Security forces, would be a powerful propaganda stunt to ensure Bush's election.
Sadly, we now know better. The film is a chilling, Nostradamus-like tale about Bush/Cheney, Homeland Security, the Patriot Act, and all the rest of the evil that has been foisted upon America these past three years. The climax of the film, in which Internal Security agents plan to commit an atrocity and blame it on the underground, is disturbingly close to something Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Ridge might plan. After all, an "al Quaeda" terrorist attack, "successfully foiled" by Homeland Security forces, would be a powerful propaganda stunt to ensure Bush's election.