Martin Sheen plays Esteves' character as an older sucessful neurologist who is visiting Las Vegas during a convention. When a former soldier in a wheelchair appears and pleads for his help, Sheen is forced to recall his position as a psychological tester of US army soldiers who were being trained during the 1950's by the US army for combat in a nuclear environment. The movie mostly consists of Sheen's flashbacks to his youth (played by Esteves)where he uncovers that the soldiers and himself are being lied to by the army about radiation. Esteves, after growing attached to the platoon he was supposed to be observing, becomes way to involved in the nuclear experiments.
Sheen gives a powerful performance of a man who must tell the truth about the past so that he can face the future with a clear conscience. Nevertheless, the film has no car chases, no hand-to-hand combat, gunfighting, etc, so it's easy to see why it wasn;t a huge hit. However, if you happen to be a history teacher or just a history buff with an interest in the early days of the Cold War, you MUST own a copy of this movie!!!
