Transcends the Disaster Formula

Rating: Null/10 (8 June 2004)

I can't disagree more with the critics of this film. In the first place, I saw very little in the way of similarity to any previous disaster film I've seen. Secondly, I saw no dialogue or plot sequence I'd consider even remotely cheesy. And finally, on the "science," a brief note.
The film mentions the last Ice Age some 10,000 years ago. And there was no attempt to explain WHY the climate changed so suddenly. However, this does not detract from the film's enjoyment. In fact, I found it refreshing to finally find a film in the disaster genre where no one person had a "definitive" answer or solution. In short, the film hit home just how "vulnerable" we humans are ... yes, even pointy-headed scientists. But before questioning the believability of sudden climate change, keep one historical fact in mind.
In the years 536 and 537 AD, North America had no "summer" season. Further, there was no new plant growth during those years. The evidence for this was found through analysis of ice drillings in Greenland as well as analysis of tree-rings in California (Sequoias can live up to 4,000 years ... or longer). Something happened in late 535 or early 536 to cause this sudden, dramatic change in climate. While it did not bring on a new Ice Age, can you imagine what a two-year "cold season" would do to lifestyles and economics for North America?
Climatologists know this "cold period" existed. But, they cannot explain why it happened. And since they can't explain away the sudden change of climate in our past, it makes it hard to give them much credence when they state with "certainty" that a sudden change can't happen in our future.