The Brink of War

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2:23

The Brink of War

PG

Aug 2026

1h 57m

Drama

History

Mystery & Thriller

War

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

71%

Tomatometer

49 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

100+ Verified Ratings

President Reagan races against time to salvage a deal with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that could dismantle nuclear arsenals--or ignite disaster. With pressure mounting from advisors, intelligence agencies, and history itself, every word spoken brings the world closer to peace... or destruction.

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Todd Gilchrist

TheWrap

Aug 16, 2026

Gunn’s lacking aptitude as a first-time feature director limits the drama that can be wrung out of two men — even these two men — bickering in a room with one another over the fate of humanity.

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Peter Travers

The Travers Take

Aug 14, 2026

2/4

Jeff Daniels is Reagan and Jared Harris is Gorbachev. And 40 years after their nuclear summit comes a super-stodgy movie reminder that has all the visual punch of a book on tape.

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Adam Kempenaar

Filmspotting

Aug 14, 2026

3/5

An on-the-nose paean to good ol’ boy diplomacy that’s nevertheless enjoyable—and worth heeding.

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Louisa Moore

Screen Zealots

Sep 10, 2026

Although the film suffers from horrible miscasting, this is mostly a tense, thoughtful portrait of diplomacy that makes history feel immediate.

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Brett Arnold

At the Movies Again

Sep 1, 2026

More like the brink of snore! It really is just a boring movie about a meeting.

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Adam Courtliff

InSession Film

Sep 1, 2026

C+

Overall, it’s safe to say The Brink of War is a mixed bag.

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Marcus

4 days ago

A movie of substance.

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Mr Hollywood

Sep 18, 2026

Not bad but it needed something more. It needed more drama more tension. Needed more overall

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Ryan S

Sep 5, 2026

If you’re a fan of Cold War history it’s a really great movie! I only didn’t give it five stars because most people would probably find it a bit slow and uninteresting. I never realized we were SO close to a totally different world.

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Douglas S

Sep 2, 2026

really good movie. even as someone who doesn't love everything Reagan did, you see see how momentus these talks were and are reminded of how presidents once acted.

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Griffin T

Sep 1, 2026

Solid film, has some good moments of tension. My only drawback is I wish the actors looked and spoke exactly like the characters they portrayed

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C M C

Aug 29, 2026

The story was compelling and introduced a piece of history. I was not familiar with beyond that. The acting was superb. It was great to have my 22-year-old son with me to learn more about this important time in history. Makes me realize what a small man Donald Trump is compared to Ronald Reagan Reag

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Michael Russell Gunn

Director

Jeff Daniels

Ronald Reagan

Jared Harris

Mikhail Gorbachev

J.K. Simmons

George Shultz

Aya Cash

Cleo

Guy Burnet

Alexander

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Synopsis

President Reagan races against time to salvage a deal with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that could dismantle nuclear arsenals--or ignite disaster. With pressure mounting from advisors, intelligence agencies, and history itself, every word spoken brings the world closer to peace... or destruction.

Director: Michael Russell Gunn
Producer: John Logan Pierson, Sidney Kimmel, Matt Aragachi, Christopher Hammond, Tyler Zacharia, John Logan Pierson, Michael Russell Gunn
Screenwriter: Michael Russell Gunn
Distributor: Angel Studios
Production Co: SK Global, Designed Epic
Rating: PG (Language|Thematic Elements|Smoking)
Genre: Drama, History, Mystery & Thriller, War
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 14, 2026, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2026
Runtime: 1h 57m

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