A great movie

Author: Mister_Anderson from King of Prussia, PA
30 January 2005

This is a great movie. I think the people who don't like it are (1) people expecting it to be a summer block buster popcorn movie with a million special effects, or (2) people upset because they think it's cheesy / has scientific errors. Let me address both points.

First of all, this is not a disaster movie in the style of Armageddon or Volcano or any of them. It's a movie about humanity's struggle to deal with an impending disaster. And in doing that, it succeeds. Most of the film is supported by strong talent, including Robert Duvall and Morgan Freeman. In smaller roles, Max Schell, Vanessa Redgrave, and Ron Eldard really shine. I was disappointed by Tea Leoni's acting. And Elijah Wood and Leelee Sobieski didn't really do much for me, although they weren't bad.

Second, while the movie is not standard Hollywood flair, it doesn't altogether escape the Hollywood curse. There are a few fairly ridiculous moments and plot points. HOWEVER, compared to disaster movies, I have to say this are extremely minor. To counter this, there are some very touching scenes. I don't want to give anything away here, but most of them occur near the end of the film.This is not the best movie ever by any means, but it comes as close as a mainstream Hollywood movie dealing with the end of the world is going to get. Also, James Horner's score was terrific.Definitely worth a watch.