Good disaster flick, mediocre film

Rating: 5/10 (5 June 2004)

Incredibly clichéd and cheezy, but still a helluva lot of fun and immensely entertaining. Fits right into the mould of disaster/survival flicks, and does it ever excel at it. Major landmarks destroyed? Check. One family stuck in the middle of it all? Check. Budding romance facilitated by the disaster? Check. Sweeping implausibilities and gaping plot holes? Check. It's the type of movie where you can look right past its flaws, rather than be irritated by them, and just enjoy the ride. Still, it is a film, and thus must be judged as one.
The basic premise is intriguing, but the screenplay falters. Instead of focusing on one band of survivors, the story jumps all over the place - presumably to show off the wide array of disasters occurring. The dialogue is quite bad at times, but at others is surprisingly innovative. The writing, overall, is not as bad as it could have been. There are quite a few flaws of logic - conveniently ignored to further the plot - and wild leaps of imagination, but it fits within the realm of the movie. The acting is decent - for a disaster flick - with no performances standing out as good or bad. The message of the movie is appropriately low-key until the President's speech at the end - hammering home the point rather bluntly. A bit more subtlety would have been appreciated. Still, it's a welcome change for this type of film.
The movie's real strength is the visuals. The effects are amazing - save for some rather goofy wolves - as the full magnitude of Earth's power is unleashed. The tornado scene is the highlight of the film, as it is both original and superbly done. The tidal wave scene had a been there, done that feel to it - though it was also pulled off very well. In the last half, the snow scenes are done well and can be quite breathtaking at times. All in all, Oscar-worthy special effects.
So, overall, this was a well done disaster flick but a mediocre film. As per usual for the genre, character development is uneven, plot holes are plentiful, and dialogue is silly. None of the flaws really stand out and disrupt the flow of the movie, though, which is carried by the thrills and effects. And, for this type of film, that works very well.