World War Three: Two and a Half Minutes to Midnight

2017, Military and War  -   13 Comments
6.56
12345678910
Ratings: 6.56/10 from 52 users.

In the more than seven decades that have elapsed since the Second World War, weapons of mass destruction have become more lethal and tensions between feuding countries more strained and consequential. Many experts speculate that a third global conflict would resemble nothing short of Armageddon. World War Three: Two and a Half Minutes to Midnight explores this frightening possibility.

The threat of a third world war has lingered in our consciousness for some time. The film traces a series of historical milestones that have further stoked these fears, including the birth of the Cold War, the introduction of the nuclear arms race and other events leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since that time, faulty nuclear detection technologies and careless human errors have resulted in a number of close calls.

It regardless of the potential for catastrophic mishaps, the promise of mutually assured destruction has long served as the ultimate deterrent to full fledged nuclear conflict. But that dynamic could be changing as more unpredictable players volley for their own slice of the nuclear pie. In the film's view, the building blocks are snapping into place to ensure a world war far more devastating than the last two combined.

The centerpiece of the film is an intensely detailed nightmare scenario of global nuclear holocaust. The first missile strikes would launch by sea. Even the swiftest course of retaliation would arrive too late as hundreds of millions would perish within hours, many more would be wounded beyond repair, and future generations would be left to deal with the grotesque consequences of ever-present fallout. Global temperatures would drop rapidly, and the Earth's blankets of vegetation would wither and die.

This could become our new reality with a single push of a button.

Threats to the longevity of our species aren't limited to nuclear disaster. The filmmakers examine the possibility of biochemical and cyberspace warfare as well. These instances might be far less bombastic than a missile blast, but they are no less crippling.

Well researched and scarily relevant, World War Three: Two and a Half Minutes to Midnight delivers the ultimate cautionary tale.

More great documentaries

13 Comments / User Reviews

  1. Bradley Geyer

    Israel attacking Iraq was a war crime. This film is biased. Israel is not above the law.

  2. gg boi

    This documentary did not age well

  3. Glenn

    We tend to keep forgetting our mistakes from the past, the corruption of power and the abuse of greed are merely 2 of our vast array of faults. Pray for Peace for the future .

  4. thomas

    Peter: Well,,,written,,,post faggot

  5. Micheal D Nealy

    Yea the button is a metaphor. The Cliff notes are something like this. the POTUS uses a code that notifies the Dept of defense he wants a nuclear strike. The Military needs verification from the Sec of Defense that it is a lawful order. The Military and POTUS discuss options. IN an emergency, this could go as quickly as five minutes since parties would be privy to the situation and it would not be a surprise.

  6. Piki Verschueren

    Einstein was consistently baffled by human stupidity around him as well as what he saw around the world. Thank you for this docu.

  7. Joe Torres

    You folks are doing a great job and don't let anyone discourage or put you down. Keep those docs coming, I love them. Thanks.

  8. Peter

    he's mentally I'll too,,, and nobody tolled him that ,,,

  9. Nick

    You tell Martin SeeUat Videos

  10. SeeUat Videos

    @Martin Hedington

    1. "Single push of a button" is obviously a metaphor. Claiming that the filmmaker really thinks that there's a button is a bit of a stretch.
    2. People do sometimes make genuine mistakes, typos, etc., hence the 15,000.
    3. I don't see how we embarrassed ourselves, since we didn't make the video in the first place?

  11. Mike

    We think droppjng tactical nuke from stealth bombers will take them out. I doubt they can distroy all N Koreas nukes. Who gets N K first nuke? SK. Japan? Hawaii? Washington state? Calif?

  12. Martin Hedington

    Reading "Single push of a button" in the write-up, (which has been proven a complete fallacy), then hearing an obviously adolescent voice reading a 15,000 text as 15 hundred, convinced me within a minute or so that this video is a complete and utter waste of time. SeeUat Videos, you've really embarrassed yourselves with this garbage.

  13. Ilija

    Donald is a businessman. He knows that total destruction is bad for business. Now that he's a politician, he also knows that fear of total destruction is good both for business and strengthening one's political position. Posturing against an invented "enemy" is the way to instill fear.

    C'mon guys, it's all theatre for the masses. They're colluding with each other.