A Brilliant Conflict

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

It moved me. It shows what's in deep souls . It could be happening in near future. One of the best movies ever. The girl's play is so convincing. Michael is the best of all.I can't understand the ratting and it's sale. The movie was well directed. well played. so realistic and convincing.It didn't get the attention it deserved.

The nuclear holocaust that occurs from the start is a minor character when compared to the group sealed shut in Mickey's home. It soon becomes apparent that Mickey, a loner who likes it that way, has let the wrong ones into his home, which as a survivalist and nihilist as well as a loner (after his wife died), he has kept well-stocked w/provisions for just such a terrible happening. He soon regrets letting in some of the group who are blacker inside than the ones who dropped the bomb outside, and the real horror of the movie comes with the knowledge that the human condition can be more terrible and frightening than any nuclear bomb. It isn't long before the're attacked by men wearing protective suits, but even then, you're kept in the shadows. As the movie moves along you begin to think it would have been better to be outside when the bomb was dropped.I have to say that I've always enjoyed Michael Biehn's movies, but especially his later work after he (like we all) put on the years and looked the part he played (he was always a good actor but in his earlier work that was heavily coupled with his 'good looks' as the original Kyle Reese in the 1st Terminator and Cpl. Hicks in Aliens whereas in his later works he didn't 'lose' his looks, he aged into a hard, weather-beaten, tough good looking man). And his taking part in the making of the movies brought that bleakness, the hardness with a core of hope or caring, that makes you want to hunt down more by the man. Always a good actor, he got better, as well as his directing and producing, giving you movies hard to watch but impossible to stop. This is one of them-it shows you that sometimes you don't know who the real enemy is until it's far too late.

Xavier Gens 's The Divide is one of the most unrepentant, bleak glimpses at life after a nuclear apocalypse I've ever seen committed to film. The opening credits have barely started before we're thrown headlong into the midst of an attack on New York City, debris flung at the lens, people running screaming.. most dying. A lucky few make it to the building caretaker's fortified basement, where they are forced to hide out together. Lauren German and her wimpy husband (Ivan Gonzalez), Courtney B. Vance, Roseanna Arquette and her daughter Abbey Thickson, and two arrogant tough guys (Michael Eklund and Milo Ventigmiglia) are among the survivors, and are all excellent. The real standout is Michael Biehn as Mickey, the grizzled caretaker, with a take no bullschit attitude and a tortured past. He begrudgingly allows them to stay (also, he's outnumbered), and when it becomes clear the disaster has resulted in fallout and they are going to be stuck down there for a long time, tensions arise. Slowly, subtly their minds begin to unravel and societal boundaries stretch in favour of primal, animalistic urges and madness. This is apparent in Eklund, Ventimiglia and Arquette's astounding performances especially. The three of them get hit with fallout the hardest, give in to their inner natures and by the end of the film resemble grotesque creatures, as opposed to the people they started off as. Lauren German is the most resilient, letting the only light of hope in the film shine through in her work. For a lower budget effort it packs a nasty punch, leaving a sickening aura in its wake, as any serious minded post apocalyptic movie should. Just be prepared to watch some Family Guy or something after to get you out of its pessimistic, feverishly overpowering head space.

I thought this film was centred on a group trapped in a bunker versus an unknown enemy trying to get them following a nuclear event. In fact, this is just a small plot tool designed to set the scene for the true film plot. This film is actually the descent into depravity of a group trapped in a bunker. It's a film about secrets, insanity, group dynamics and how the situation evolves and ultimately slips into chaos. The acting is good, the set and costumes are low budget but the score is world class. The music really made me think it deserved a better film. The Divide is worth a watch as long as you know that 'the strange people outside' are little more than a mechanism and feature little beyond that. The end is predictable and will leave you unfulfilled for the time you've invested so in that respect, it's like a train ride to work, enjoy the journey because the destination isn't up to much.