Bad Review: North Korea Threatens War If Movie Is Released
jonathanturley
There are bad reviews and then there are bad reviews that push a nation to the brink of war. North Korea Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un clearly does not like “The Interview.” The movie about a talk show host and his producer killing Kim Jong-un seemed a bit too counterrevolutionary so the government has declared its release to be an act of war and threatened a “merciless” response.
Frankly, I felt the same way after seeing Battlefield Earth but I lacked the weapons of mass destruction.
The question is whether this makes James Franco and Seth Rogen “enemy combatants” under our own quasi-legal principles.
The North Korean spokesman declared the movie “the most blatant act of terrorism and war and will absolutely not be tolerated.” This was followed by denouncing the film as “reckless US provocative insanity” by a “gangster filmmaker.” It makes Roger Ebert’s reviews a bit less riveting in retrospect.
The North Korean government warned that “If the US administration allows and defends the showing of the film, a merciless counter-measure will be taken.” Presumably, the government intends to re-release Ishtar and shower the West with the DVDs.
