The plot of the film, and the driving force of its suspense, is that the defense system has only a 50% chance of thwarting a nuclear assault — a coin toss, in the film’s parlance. But the Pentagon would like its employees to know that these systems have “displayed a 100% accuracy rate in testing for more than a decade.” 100% accuracy! That’s some computer they got there. Imagine that: the world’s first infallible computer system. However, according to The Atlantic, the Pentagon might just be doing some selective sampling. The MDA has conducted four tests in the last decade, and while those were successful, between 2010 and 2013, the system failed three tests for a success rate of 57 percent, which is the rate portrayed in Dynamite.
Nevertheless, we’d tell the famously very chill Pentagon to calm down about Netflix, but they already seem to know this is just a movie. “The fictional interceptors in the movie miss their target,” the memo continues. “We understand this is intended to be a compelling part of the drama, intended for the entertainment of the audience.”
Screenwriter and producer Noah Oppenheim disagreed with the Pentagon’s assessment. While acknowledging that he’s “not a missile defense expert,” he did speak to many for the screenplay and believes the film is “hopefully a fairly accurate portrait of the reality that exists.” Again, assuming those in the room are competent and not distracted by ballroom construction or how many pushups they can do.
“Unfortunately, our missile defense system is highly imperfect,” he continued. “If the Pentagon wants to have a conversation about improving it or what the next step might be in keeping all of us safer, that’s the conversation we want to have. But what we show in the movie is accurate.”
