I would not call this a gripping suspense movie since there are some places that make you laugh when maybe you should not. But if you take the performances of the two colonels and the major general aside, the movie is redeemed two-fold and you end up with some enjoyable entertainment, thanks to Scheider, Prochnow, and Stanton. But, don't expect a realistic post-cold-war scenario. Would two colonels with so many years invested in their careers risk it all just to express personal dislikes of each other? And would the general pussyfoot around so long with an American colonel who's actions could at any time escalate them into a major confrontation? I think not!!! But just watch the movie and you might disagree with this, since all you think about at the time is "will World War III start over a snowball fight?".

The plot is absurd, the logic is absent and the running back and forth across the east-west border is laughable.

BUT - it's one of the greatest movies ever made anyway. Why? Because it got a view through correctly adjusted binoculars right! As 1 circle. NOT 2 touching circles.

Million dollar movies, close to billion dollar movies from Hollywood, can't even get this simple fact right and it annoys me immensely. The annoying thing is that directors can get access to so much money and are not intelligent enough to get it right. If they spend a hundred dollars more they could buy a consultant to tell them things like that! But the directors are too dumb! Amazing.

So a big HOORAY for The Fourth War!! The ONLY other film I remember that avoids this Hollywood dumb cliché is The Bridge On The River Kwai.

And that's not all folks. The Fourth War lets the Russians speak Russian. I'm close to tears with enthusiasm! In the Hollywood world where Germans, Russians, Chinese and every alien from outer space speaks American this is groundbreaking. I know that most Americans are too dumb to read subtitles (or rather Hollywood think they are) but it renders authenticity in wast amounts to a movie.

The ridiculous script is totally forgiven on these two grounds!!

The premise of this film is totally off the wall. Yet it's good entertainment as two hardened soldiers fight their own personal war across the iron curtain. Almost too bad that the cold war is over because they don't make movies like this anymore. Roy Scheider and Jurgen Prochnow give the capable performances one would expect of them but the outstanding performer is Harry Dean Stockton as the US general.He was top notch.

It's really a silly idea for a movie. But what the heck. I enjoyed it!