Recommended to teenagers uninterested in renting "The Poseidon Adventure" or "Earthquake"

Rating: 4/10 (19 December 2004)

Hollywood keeps recycling its old, semi-forgotten titles--and when the beleaguered producers run out of those, they simply recycle the clichés therein. This doomsday thriller seems patched together with scenes from old Irwin Allen movies (although, granted, it's better than several of Allen's hackneyed yarns). The special effects are the star as the Northern hemisphere is headed for a new Ice Age; that doesn't seem to really bother scientist Dennis Quaid, who just wants to find his son (a resourceful lad who manages to find a working pay-phone in New York City's downtown library). The director is a hack who sets up the same momentum in every lazy circumstance: panic situation, near-peril, rescue, reward. It may keep kids satisfied, but those of us over 30 have seen it all before. ** from ****