The Ice Age Cometh

Rating: 7/10 (10 July 2017)

Paleoclimatologist Jack Hall is taking ice core samples in Antarctica when a massive ice sheet breaks off from the continent. He believes his research suggests that this is caused by global warming but rather than raising temperatures it could ultimately change the currents in the North Atlantic and trigger another ice age. He doesn't realise just how soon it will happen though. First it starts snowing in New Delhi, then hailstones as large as ones fist bombard Tokyo, then huge tornadoes ravage Los Angeles. This is just a hint of what is to come; massive super-storms form over Canada, Northern Europe and Siberia causing the temperature to drop so fast that anybody caught outside freezes instantly. Jack is heading up the research in Washington DC but his son, Sam, is on a school trip to New York when the effects of the weather starts to take effect; first a massive tsunami his the city causing a flood then the temperature starts to drop. Sam, his friends and other survivors take shelter in the library. As an evacuation of the United States gets underway Jack, along with two colleagues, heads north to try to rescue his son.
This is a decent enough catastrophe movie; there are some great special effects as we see the expected variety well known landmarks getting destroyed or frozen. It also suffers from the cliché of concentrating on a small group of 'designated survivors' who we are meant to care about while vast numbers of others die who won't guess that the homeless man with his dog will survive while the man who tried to stop him entering the library will ultimately freeze?! The cast do a solid job; most notably Dennis Quaid as Jack and Jake Gyllenhaal as Sam. It is weather effects that are the real star of the film though. At times the film does feel a bit too preachy; I don't mind a film with a message but this was too heavy handed at times. Overall this was a pretty good film; I expect fans of the genre will enjoy it.