superior disaster flick

Rating: 8/10 (22 June 2004)

(some minor spoilers...)
A surprisingly effective mainstream disaster film in the mould of some well-loved classics (Poseidon Adventure, Towering Inferno, etc) which doesn't stray far from the tried and tested formula but does nevertheless manage to feel inventive and modern...
A good disaster film humanizes a tragedy by focusing on a small but disparate group of characters who are imperilled, and to whom we are required to form some sort of emotional attachment. When the disaster is on a relatively small scale (people trapped in burning tower, or upturned boat) this is easy enough, but as Emmerich seems to specialise in global destruction, it can be a more difficult formula to pull off. Independence Day struggled to present the viewer with anything very much to care about, with a motley assortment of two dimensional characters who never really had a chance to rise above the ridiculous plot and relentless action.
TDAT is definitely more adult in its approach. It has a "message" and if the science has been 'tweaked' a little to suit a two hour film, then so be it. (Let's face it, watching a film which realistically depicts the scale of climate change would not be high on anyone's list of fun nights out.) I think he does a good job of dramatising the issues in a manner which does not seriously undermine the film's green credentials.
This is helped by using the great Ian Holm to lend gravitas to some of the sciency stuff. It's a shame that Adrian Lester, one of the UK's finest actors, wasn't given a meatier role, but it's still refreshing to see a depiction of working climatologists which doesn't stereotype them as nerdy scientists with no inner life. It's also a film which at least pays lip service to there being life outside the US, with a number of scenes in Europe, and the aforementioned British actors talking about Manchester United in their Scottish hidey-hole.
Which brings us back to the imperilled characters who inhabit the core of the film. For every scene in which nature wreaks havoc on a sizeable chunk of the earth (and credit due here for some truly outstanding special effects), there should be an emotional counterpoint. Dennis Quaid gives a very solid, charismatic performance as the father who mounts a polar-style expedition along the Eastern coast to reach his son. It's an interesting comparison with the Jeff Goldblum role from ID4 (also playing the "scientist who wasn't listened to and whose focus now is to save his family") and really points up the more fully fleshed out character in this film, and also the better performance. The scenes with Jake Gyllenhaal trapped in the library are also watchable, sprinkled with enough clever moments amongst the "as if?!" clichés to keep one's interest. The amusing debate over which books to burn between the bespectacled liberal and the female student ("Nietzsche?! Not Nietzsche!") was just the sort of quirky scene which elevated the film above predictable schlock.
Some of the minor characters didn't do it for me - the hobo, who I guess was some sort of cypher for the less materialistic lifestyle we should be aspiring to (the simple life of the non-consumer ultimately rewarded with survival) and the dying boy patient (a little unnecessary when a whole hemisphere was about to be obliterated) both would have been more at home in Independence Day. The arrogance and ignorance of the vice president seemed very plausible, and his conversion-by-fire (or ice in this case) to accept the damage being done to the planet made for a dramatic large-scale conclusion to accompany the reconciliation of Quaid and son.
The odd scene here and there veered into cheesy action flick territory. There was, as someone else has pointed out here, really no need for the "Jurassic Park with wolves" scene. And the "chased along street by lethal icy wind" scene into which it segued struck me as being risible. Quick! Close the door, before the nasty weather kills you... But none of this detracted from the enjoyment.
Perhaps the most impressive achievement of TDAT is this it really did leave me with some memorable images - the ship stranded in the snow halfway up fifth avenue (or wherever it was), the icicles hanging down from the statue of liberty, the wall of water approaching manhattan, even some of the views of earth from space.
In summary (no pun intended), better than expected and therefore pretty good.