Perhaps I just missed something here, but I don't understand why the "German from Missouri" scientist was killed by the capsule detonated in the south Atlantic, since the upshot of the film was that only the totalitarians in the world were killed by this "weapon."
Granted, I missed a few minutes here and there ....
I just saw this movie and here's your answer. The capsules only worked to eliminate 'the bad guys' if reconfigured like the professor did. He changed the capsules and rearranged them after he was able to study them, thus ridding the world of the aformentioned bad guys and preparing the way for humanity to welcome the aliens. It's what the aliens were hoping for all along I guess. The question I have, is how could the professor do this if he didn't have all the capsules. I assume the english woman's capule wasn't found and neither was the chinese woman's. The russian guys was used by the general in trying to destroy the west. The professor only had two of them....
shareDid you guys watch the movie? Yeesh!
1. The scientist (one of the chosen 5 who was later hit by a car) allowed one of his capsules to be used as a test to see if the capules really did anything. The Americans suspected that the capsules didn't do $hit and that the aliens gave them to us to provoke the Earth into a conventional war where we would wipe ourselves out. The German from Missouri was the test subject. His death proved that the capsules really were deadly.
2. Later the scientist discovers how to "reprogram" the capsules to only kill "the enemies of freedom" lol. He needed three capusles to do this, so he borrowed one of the American reporters capsules.
ebright
I believe NebLWeffah did watch and understand the movie. We know that he borrowed one of the reporter's capsules to break the code.
His question, however, is this: if each capsule only covers a circle with a 1500-mile radius, how did he wipe out "freedom-hating" people all over the world with the capsules he had available?
how did he wipe out "freedom-hating" people all over the world with the capsules he had available?
"I assumed that the reconfiguration was specifically 'aimed' at such people...wherever they were."
Ok. I guess that's an acceptable explanation.
At the beginning the alien said the weapon would cover an area of 3,000 miles. In other words a distance of 1,500 miles from where the capsule lands to the outer edge of the circle which is 3,000 miles edge to edge. Get it?
shareYes, Cabbagetown, I "get it." The question was, how could [at most] five capsules, each with a kill zone with a radius of 1500 miles, cover the entire Earth. Get it?
shareWell, the answer is easy. Since all the "enemies of freedom" live in Europe, Asia, Africa, or South America (I guess), you don't have to waste any on North America (well, maybe Mexico) or Australia where the friends of freesom live.
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