Implausible, trite, and a waste of time...

Rating: 1/10 (5 September 2006)

The movie was a major disappointment for several reasons. The pseudo science it was based on was ludicrous, and the thinly veiled political propaganda that ran throughout this film made it painful to watch. The story line was pitifully trite, and the cast of stock characters only made the film more banal. Great special effects and multiple crisis situations were not enough to save this movie from what it was... a pathetic waste of time.
When I watch a movie, I don't want to know where it's going after the first five minutes. I don't want to be able to predict characters' lines or actions before they happen. I want a movie that keeps me thinking, and continuously surprises me as it unfolds. The only thing I thought about while watching this movie was, "When is it going to end?" The only thing that surprised me was that people actually paid money to go see it at the theater. (I got my DVD copy of it in a bargain discount 2-pack with the cartoon, "Ice Age". Hmm, maybe that says something about the movie.)
One of the movie's many inaccuracies that I can address with some authority was the scene where three RAF helicopters crashed on their way to rescue the British Royal Family at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Okay, I'll buy the bit that their fuel lines froze up, killing their engines. However, that would not have stopped the choppers' rotors from spinning. Helicopter pilots sent to rescue the Queen of England and her family would have to have been some of the best in the RAF. It is extremely hard to believe that these pilots and co-pilots would not have known how to autorotate their whirlybirds to a safe landing after their engines died. (I have over 1,000 hours of flight time at the controls of four different helicopters in years gone by, and have done countless autorotations. This is not a difficult thing to do. Even student pilots have no problem performing this basic maneuver.) However, this terribly flawed movie shows all three helicopters spiraling out of control until they impact the ground.
I guess I no longer have to warn people about wasting their money to go see it at the theater. It's long gone. However, if you're looking to add it to your DVD collection, wait until you find it in a bargain discount 2-pack for under $10.00. Don't load it into your DVD player until late at night, when you're having trouble getting to sleep.