Good Special Effects, Bad Everything Else

Rating: 6/10 (9 August 2004)

I went to see this movie knowing that the best part would be the visual effects, but I also expected a decent story. Well, I was right about the first part. The only thing that makes this film watchable are the visual effects. Everything else is below average.
Thai main message of the film (that we don't treat nature as we should and nature will find a way to correct that) is left totally undeveloped and by the end of the film it seems more like an impossibility rather than something that could actually happen if we are not careful. The ecological, political and ethical messages of the film are somewhat naive and instead of adding to the film they detract from it. And the fact that the father and son story takes first place in the film is not good at all.
The film tries to talk about many things at the same time and fails every time. But it is not successful as an action film either. While some scenes (like the flooding of NY City) are spectacular and create some tension, the rest of the film just has too many problems. For example, I could not feel the threat of the climate changes because even though they threatened the entire world, all we saw was the destruction of LA and NYC. And the end was just terrible. All this just passed away and everything will be just ok?
I recommend it only for the excellent visual effects. I give it 6 out of 10 (again for the visual effects).