A special effects filled movie

Rating: Null/10 (16 June 2004)

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs
Climatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) discovers erratic changes on the weather patterns on the climate.It is from here that the earth,finally rebelling against years of abuses from the greenhouse effect and global warming,unleashes a cataclysmic onslaught of hurricanes,floods and other natural disasters before everything freezes over.Hall must try and save his son Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is trapped over in New York.
With a plot that straight-forward and basic,we're already set in motion in terms of where TDAT's priorities lie in terms of what constitutes filmic greatness.Coming from director Roland Emmerich,the man behind that most ultimate of summer blockbuster movies Independence Day,I think we can assume that means (admittently) rather breath-taking,awe-inspiring special effects over such things as plot,which here is really just to serve as a backdrop to give the film meaning,characterization which is woefully perfunctory and leaves you unable to care about any of the characters's fates whatsoever,and script,that just,well,su*ks.The performances don't seem to have had too much investment payed in to them,either.Quaid appears to have transfered some (though thankfully not quite all) of his Cold Creek Manor woodenness to his performance here,which is unappealing,Gyllenhaal is a talented and dynamic young actor here appearing in material which is below his station and which he is obviously only appearing in to raise his profile,whilst Adrian Lester rides on the popularity of his leading role in the recent hit BBC1 drama series Hustle with his role as Scotland based climate station operator Simon.
This film,and others like it,are designed to be 'summer blockbusters' and deliver marvelous special effects,and not much else.As far as the plot goes,there is the interesting angle of how if we continue to abuse the planet in such a way,this is what could be waiting for us,but no informative insight is ever offered on this matter and to anyone not taken in by all the publicity surrounding the film,the message will probably just drift by completely unnoticed.
By rights,I should give this film the ultimate five stars award.It satisfied me in the only way I expected it to (in terms of the special effects) and satisfied me very well.But it certainly didn't pleasantly surprise me in any way,either.It's the sort of cheesy,cheerfully condescending pap of entertainment that nobody takes seriously in the year 2004.It's just open to parody from comedy movies to be released by Hollywood in the near future (I had to stifle laughs as I sat in the auditorium,as I watched the tidal wave scene as it raced through New York,as I pictured surfers riding along the waves and a loud voice shouting 'waaaa-heeey-heeey,wipeout!!!','da naaa naaaa naaa naa...!!!' plays overhead (amongst other things).)Despite the lack of engaging plot and cardboard characters,I only expected the film to deliver on one level anyway,and on this level,it delivered and it wasn't pizzas.If you are a seasoned connoisseur of films and visit the cinema regularly,you should know exactly what to expect and only have yourself to blame if you expected too much. ***