A satisfying dig at right-wing denial

Rating: 8/10 (19 February 2005)

Yes, there's some overplayed drama, but I think this film effectively fights denial from anthropocentric conservatives and oil-industry players. I liked the scene where the Vice President claims short-term economic harm is more important than possible calamitous damage from a climate shift. That level of arrogance is common in Washington these days, and millions of Americans get their sound bytes of "science" from talk shows hosted by Creationists with 2-year business degrees.
It's too bad you have to show the average person a rapid tragedy to remind them of nature's power. If they made this movie about "boring" incremental heating, displacement of crops and slowly rising sea levels, few people would watch it. I wonder if the rapid freeze was the producer's clever way of dispelling Ice Age cultists who think warming is the wrong concern? I wish they'd developed the science angle more but I'm sure they had to weigh mixed audience reaction. They should have explained the warm water "conveyor belt" more thoroughly because the threat from fresh water intrusion is very real, even if it takes much longer than in the film. We shouldn't assume that, though.