Why did people take this film as seriously as they did?

Rating: 5/10 (20 June 2005)

This film got a lot of (in my humble opinion)unwarranted attention for its environmentalist message, both good and bad, and of course,I wondered:why? Even before seeing this film(OK,I read a few reviews,so I was already for what I was to see) I knew that this was,message aside,little more than a big-budget special effects blockbuster. After seeing it,my suspicions were confirmed.
My politics would probably favor the general message of the movie,but I still found it hard to believe that groups like MoveOn.org were trying to do the hard-sell for this picture. For starters,the way the climate changes are portrayed in this film are so rapid and,at times,ridiculous that it siphons away much of the legitimacy of the "Global Warming as a legitimate threat" menace,which would seem to do more harm than good to the "Save the Environment" movement. The visual effects ARE impressive,but they are given such force and vibrancy that they become the stars of the show,rather than the message or (get this!)the actors involved.
On that topic,really there is nothing at all distinctive of interesting about nearly all the characters involved. In particular,Dennis Quaid,JAke Gyllenhaal,Emmy Rossum,Sela Ward(overrated TV actress,also MHO),Jay O. Sanders among others seem to be mere readers to their script lines,truly wasting their talents. A subplot about a group of meteorologists in Scotland,led by Ian Holm,was,to me,more interesting and sympathetic but,naturally,this being an American film(directed by the Kaboom-obsessed German director Roland Emmerich),they will get easily left behind in favor of the pluckier American heroes. Being a Yank myself,I wouldn't mind this if I thought the characters from my country weren't as flat as the paper they were written on.
IN short,I would recommend this film to watch more as a sort of topic-related adventure flick, rather than a stirring "call to arms" type picture,and that's if I were to recommend it at all. The White HOuse being alarmed by this film's message was unnecessary. If this film stirs you or someone to become more environmentally conscious,well...God bless ya,but I think you'd be in the minority of its viewers. A summer movie,pure and simple,and not a terribly good one at that.