One of the worst movies EVER

Rating: Null/10 (29 May 2004)

I knew this movie would be bad, unfortunately it was worse than expected. The plot is paper thin: OK, after 150 years of mass fossil fuel consumption, global warming shifts the flow of the gulf stream. This creates a drastic change in the weather patterns and in a matter of days three gigantic hurricane-like snow storms engulf the entire northern hemisphere. Dennis Quaid and Ian Holm play scientists who see the immediate threat that the storms pose and are unable to bring it to the attention of an apathetic White House. About twenty minutes into the film, the storm has begun and the drama that unfolds. These severe storms rip through the world, tearing LA apart with monster tornadoes, burying the Brittish Isles in snow and ice, and flooding New York before turning the 5 boroughs into the world's largest ice cube tray. Amidst all of this chaos, the governments of the world (namely the US) sit on their hands and watch the major urban centers of the world be ripped apart by these horrific storms. Meanwhile, Dennis Quaid's son in the picture, Sam (played by Jake Gyllenhaal of Donnie Darko fame), is trapped in NYC after traveling from DC to compete in a team academic competition, which Sam joined to get to know Laura (played by Mystic River's Emmy Rossum).
If you have an attention span of less than two minutes, you have a 50/50 shot of enjoying this movie. There are too many story lines competing for screen time in this movie. None of the characters have any depth, and the plot is thinner than rice paper. The only reason to see this movie is for technical reasons, and even in this respect, the movie is not noteworthy. The CGI isn't anything spectacular, and there weren't even any cute little scientific tidbits which you are generally able to take away from these types of movies which suggests to me that there was more time spent photocopying the script than there was actual research. In the end this movie is nothing more than a thinly-veiled politically oriented movie that take weak shots at the current American government, and even weaker shots at trying to act.
Acting: D- Directing: F Visual Effects: C+ Script: F-
Average: 0.75 out of 4
Seriously, this film made Van Helsing seem Oscar worthy.