War Game

As a simultaneously slick and provocative entertainment, “War Game” is chilling and a tad infuriating, offering a white-knuckle ride that may feel a bit too fresh in the memory for viewers who are still traumatized by the real thing.

This was fascinating, urgent and important.

If that’s not scary enough, “War Game” shows how social media and TV news could be weaponized against the legitimate government.

The participants are fully invested in their roles, responding to the threat and increasing pressure as if the future of our democracy truly was on the line. Because it is.

Ably taps into a gathering darkness present in society, but seems to have no thesis, one way or another, on whether American identity, and indeed the American experiment, can survive the savvy machinations of those who vilify democracy for personal gain.

War Game concentrates a lot on the “how to” part. But it also says a lot about how eerily easy and how horrifyingly relatable the “why” of it all is.

It’s frankly terrifying stuff, and not recommended viewing immediately before bedtime.

The dramatics enacted here by an array of officials from the last five administration aren’t treated as a joke, and don’t feel like one.

The clock ticks&#59; the moment bristles... January 6: but worse. The relentless, enthralling nonfiction thriller, devised and directed by Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber, is a heroic slab of narrative construction, improvisation, theater and political narrative.

It’s incredibly tense and not the least bit reassuring, which makes this an essential watch.