- (some ellpitical spoliers herein) -
This movie is pretty much in the ballpark of the two other '80s flicks I can think of that attempt to deal with the prospect of nuclear annihilation in a realistic fashion: The Day After and Testament. Both those flicks, however, focus as much or more on the aftermath than the events leading up to the attack; Miracle Mile spends its time depicting the final few hours. The specific premise of this film is: what do you do if you happen to discover by chance, and not definitively, that the world is coming to an end an hour before the general population will find out? The bulk of the middle of the flick is pretty well executed and had me going, especially given the actions of the characters when confronted with the unconfirmed threat (I really wish they'd done more with that aspect of the story). Unfortunately, the impact of the movie is marred by a extended setup that is dull and pedestrian, and an ending that devolves into complete unbelievability - but if you liked either The Day After or Testament, it's worth viewing for the taut middle parts. The real problem with all these movies is that by definition they have to be unrelentingly downbeat, they suffer from relatively low production values and they leave little room for us to contemplate what the aftermath for these characters will be like (can you say 'The End'? I knew that you could).