A Colonel working at the Joint Chiefs of Staff uncovers a plot by his superior to use military force to remove the elected President, who always opposed Pentagon budget increases, and to rep... Read allA Colonel working at the Joint Chiefs of Staff uncovers a plot by his superior to use military force to remove the elected President, who always opposed Pentagon budget increases, and to replace him with a much tamer Vice-President.A Colonel working at the Joint Chiefs of Staff uncovers a plot by his superior to use military force to remove the elected President, who always opposed Pentagon budget increases, and to replace him with a much tamer Vice-President.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJason Robards plays United States Marine Corps General R. Pendleton Lloyd who was the Chairman of The Joint Chief of Staff. At the time the movie was released, there is still no United States Marine Corps General who become Chairman of The Joint Chief of Staff. The first United States Marine Corps General who become Chairman of The Joint Chief of Staff was General Peter Pace in 2005, the movie was released in 1994.
- GoofsThe entire premise of the Presidential takeover in the film implies that the moment the Cabinet members and the Vice President declare the president unfit for duty, he will be removed from office. However, Section 4 of the 25th Amendment outlines a detailed procedure for the manner in which a President may appeal a declaration that he is incompetent. The procedures specifies that the Vice President and the Cabinet may then re-state their case, in which afterwards the matter is forwarded to Congress. The stipulations of the 25th Amendment are in place to prevent exactly the type of scenario which is shown in the film.
- Quotes
Jean Casey: Why is everything always an order?
Col. MacKenzie 'Mac' Casey: He knows what he did. Can't lick a problem if it licks you first.
Jean Casey: Mac, he's 13. He was born into this family. He didn't enlist.
- ConnectionsVersion of Seven Days in May (1964)
I am not usually so sassy about remakes -- actors have got to eat, agents have to make deals, the maw that is cable TV needs to be fed -- but this one gets under my craw.
The original wasn't merely good, it wasn't merely great, it was perfect, it was so good that the original A-B rolls should have been sent directly to a film museum instead of merely being stored. The original had some of the best performance on record from three of the best actors of all time - I am talking Lancaster, Douglas and March. And writing by Serling. I mean, it does not get any better than that.
But try telling THAT to the clowns behind this production. In fairness it is not all bad. Whitaker has achieved in his career what some like to call "journeyman" status, he can take almost any role and make it real. Waterston was a delight to watch then, still is now. And Dana Delaney, well, let's just say that the high watermark of her career might just be her Lois Lane voice, and leave it at that.
But here is thing, and this should be a cautionary tale for other producers whose reach exceeds their grasp. Even before you started production on THE ENEMY WITHIN, the odds, the probabilities, the Sigmas, of making this equal to or better than the original were slim and none. And Slim had just left the building.
So kind viewer you have a clear choice. Watch this for passable entertainment.
Or track down the original for the film experience of a lifetime.
Up to you.
- A_Different_Drummer
- Jul 2, 2014