If your plan is to scare off your enemies by pretending to be big and powerful, you better believe it yourself. This movie is perhaps the most damning indictment of self-fulfilling prophecies orchestrated by governments. On one hand, it shows how even the most seasoned planners, even entire administrations, can become champions of bureaucratic paranoia - and how plans fail if those in power don't truly believe in them. The idea of a film that exposes presidents and premiers as the frauds they really are isn't bad. Unfortunately, it frequently shifts into over-the-top dramatization, patriotic spectacle, and American self-aggrandizement. But maybe that was Bigelow's point: to reveal America as an empty box, a sharp critique of self-importance, and a middle finger to Hollywood. After all: fake it until you make it is an American invention.

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