5 movie presidents that brought the world to an end

Quite a few people have quite a few problems with some of the world’s leaders at the moment.

But we here at Yahoo Movies UK want to try and heal the world. As part of our quest for bipartisanship across the globe we’ve decided to point out that things could actually be much, much worse.

To prove the point here are five movie presidents from the big-screen that we can all agree would be much worse than some individuals that are currently in power.

President Merkin Muffley – ‘Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb’

While the end of the world isn’t actually Merkin Muffley’s fault, he never comes close to getting to grips with the escalating antics in ‘Dr Strangelove’ that ultimately lead to a chain reaction of apocalyptic nuclear bombs dropping. At least his inability to save humanity showed us that the only way to properly greet the end of the world is by listening to Vera Lynn.

US President – ‘The Day The Earth Caught Fire’

Not only don’t we know the name of the President in ‘The Day The Earth Caught Fire’, but we don’t even know if the world comes to an end, as it concludes ambiguously. Again set in the Cold War (most of these films are), the titular disaster occurs after the Soviet Union and the United States detonate simultaneous nuclear bomb tests that alter the world’s orbit.

J.F.K – ‘A Boy And His Dog’

There have been plenty of theories about what would have happened if JFK hadn’t been assassinated. According to ‘A Boy And His Dog’ it would have led to World War Three, as the Space Race would have been replaced by a more heated Cold War. Although JFK isn’t the one that destroys the world, in 2007 the two factions take part in a nuclear war. That’s just a prefix for the film, though, which mostly revolves around 18-year-old Vic (Don Johnson) and his telepathic dog, who he is way, way too loyal to.

The President – ‘Fail Safe’

Not even Henry Fonda could prevent America and Soviet Union bombing each other in 1964’s ‘Fail Safe’, which took a much more dramatic look at how the Cold War could kill millions upon millions than Stanley Kubrick’s comedic epic. Sure, the entire world isn’t destroyed, but after a system error leads to a nuclear bomb falling on Moscow Fonda decides to sacrifice New York City to the Russians. Even though his wife is visiting the Big Apple. Talk about a bad day at the office.

President Jack Cahill – ‘Escape From L.A.’

Again the world doesn’t come to an end. But Cliff Robertson’s President is a murderer that is willing to see his own daughter sent to the electric chair, has turned L.A. into a penitentiary, and who is looking to get his hands on a world-code device that ends all technological activity on the planet. Cahill doesn’t pull the trigger himself, Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) has that honour, but his despicable actions make it seem like a worthwhile idea. Fingers crossed we don’t feel the same way in the near future.

Read more
The Golden Globes winners of 2017
Jimmy Fallon’s Golden Globes telepromter fail
Batman v Superman dominates Razzie nominations