The Brink of War (2026) on Netflix
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Reykjavík over nuclear arms. Reagan presses arms control and human rights; Gorbachev wants the stalemate broken.
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- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.2/102,564 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes71%
Trailer
Plot summary
The Cold War is still under way in 1986 when Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev arrange an informal summit in Reykjavík, Iceland, to manage simmering tensions and nuclear proliferation. Each man carries private aims: Reagan wants arms control and human rights inside the Soviet Union, while Gorbachev wants the nuclear stalemate resolved to bolster his domestic reforms. On the first day the two meet at Höfði, where Gorbachev proposes arms reduction rather than arms control. Reagan raises human rights and submits a plea on behalf of the Soviet defector and cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. Gorbachev proposes cutting all intermediate-range missiles in Europe to zero, and the two sides cannot agree on the nuclear balance in the Pacific. Outside the talks, Gorbachev's wife, Raisa, draws press attention in Iceland, while Nancy Reagan has remained in the United States.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Brink of War (2026)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Writer-director Michael Russell Gunn spent several years researching the film, interviewing former Secretary of State George Shultz before Shultz's 2021 death and receiving transcripts from the 1986 summit.
- The majority of the film was shot at Höfði, the actual site of the 1986 Reykjavík Summit, which cost 6.3 million ISK to rent from the city of Reykjavík.
