One of the better eighties post-apocalyptic films was and is Def Con 4. It bombed in 1985 but has gone on to gain a small cult following. It is the story of three astronauts, one in particular, who witness war and nuclear holocaust from a satelite. The space footage is well shot and a genuine sense of dread reigns as we watch them contemplate the deaths of their families and of civilization.

When their satelite is forced to land they fall into a nuclear wasteland fillled with armed militants and plague ridden cannibals. This is perhaps one of the dirtiest looking movies of its day, which rather adds to the already oppresive atmosphere. Unfortunately Def Con runs out of steam toward the somewhat hurried finale. Yet if your not easily put off by the brutal tone of the movie, its science fiction worthy of 90 minutes of your life.

Captain Walker (John Walsch),Pilot Howe (Tim Choate) and M. D. Jordan (Kate Lynch) are three astronauts on board of a space station. When there is a communication breakdown, they learn that there was a nuclear war and Earth is contaminated with radiation, except for Central America. They stay in orbit for a couple of months when, out of the blue, the computer is reprogrammed, and they return to Earth. Jordan has an accident during the fall on a beach and stays unconscious on board, while Walker and Howe try to dig the sand to leave the station. When they hear someone knocking the station from outside, they ask for help and Walker is murdered by the outsider. Howe locks the door and leaves the station during the night, leaving Jordan behind with a warning note. Soon he learns that the world is a dangerous place now and inhabited by cannibals, deranged people, and dangerous gangs.

"DEFCON-4" is a 1985 Canadian film with another Mad Max rip-off. In the 80's, it was successful in the video rentals, and now is only entertaining maybe for old fans. The beginning is promising, with the beginning of a nuclear war between USA and Soviet Union and USA survivors being very dysfunctional people. But Gideon Hayes and his gang are stupid characters, and the conclusion is not good. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Defcon-4"

Now this is almost too funny. Not sure if the phrase ok boomer will survive the pandemic or outlive after the year 2020, but if it does ... well actually even right now: I had no idea there was a movie with not just a character called Boomer, but also the actual dialog line "Ok Boomer". Maybe it's the fact that we are deep inside a global crisis or maybe I always thought little trivia facts like this were funny: who really knows? I should but let's leave that aside for now.

The movie itself seems to go one direction, especially after the crash and you are excused to think, wow this is intense, this could be incredible. And then it gets cliche and by the numbers. And takes a different route. So while this isn't a bad movie, it could've been way better. As it is, many things go up .. the wrong way (or is it?)