Customer Reviews

Polar Storm

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For a low-budget disaster movie, this is not bad. Jack Coleman plays a geophysicist who lives in Washington state (most of the outdoor stuff seems to be in Washington, and some in Alaska--very beautiful landscapes). He's got a moody adolescent boy who hasn't adjusted to dad's remarrying and having a stepmother (Holly Dignard) who is also a teacher at his high school. Coleman, the hero, is estranged from his father, a general stationed in Washington (which connection helps our hero attract Presidential attention and save the world). Coleman is not exactly a charismatic actor but gives a good working performance.
The movie has an interesting, not so often seen story trick--the very beginning is a flash-forward but NOT to the end of the movie (the usually seen); no, it's a flash-forward to about the MIDDLE of the film, when all hell is popping loose--then after a couple minutes the film goes back to the beginning and stays linear all the rest of the way through from there. Halfway through, you see the beginning sequence again and say "Oh THERE it is! Oh, and this is what happens next..."
What happened was: a large fragment of a big comet hit the earth in Alaska and somehow managed to shift its axis of rotation 10 degrees--without causing planetwide damage (that's about the most difficult part to swallow). This causes the axis of rotation to be significantly mis-aligned with the magnetic axis, which causes the magnetic polarity of the earth to destabilize and start breaking up. Earth-threatening consequences, ensue as cosmic radiation is penetrating down to the earth's surface and also tends to build up and cause huge electromagnetic pulsations, which destroy pretty much all functioning electrical equipment in the area. Eventually, if something isn't done, radiation effects will destroy civilization, and probably most of mankind. Not to worry; Coleman is going to save the day. Can you guess? Yes, with some nuclear weapons strategically-placed.
The computer-generated effects are decent--a little overdone in part, but generally good, and they do not overwhelm the story. It's your typical mixture of family dynamics and concerns, and the threat of worldwide disaster. This is no "Armageddon" or "Deep Impact", but it managed to stay interesting all the way through. Don't expect too much out of it and you may find it enjoyable enough.
Minor point: the subtitling needed more editing-there are some typo mistakes, and occasionally it simply does NOT say what the actors/actresses are saying--just something very close...

This movie is fast paced, maybe too fast paced. This could have been worked up into a fairly credible mini series, but as is leaves the viewer wondering about the credibility issues. There are gaps you could drive a tractor trailer through. The actor playing the son of the main protagonist is morose at best or bored. Somebody feed that kid a happy pill. The scene with the Russians had potential that could have borne fruit in a mini series, but is merely glanced over. The Russian captain was a little too ernest. And just where did they get that Type VIIC WWII sub anyway? The west coast had a Russian diesel sub on display for some time, and it did not look like that one.

Good premise, but mediocre movies.

I was not really sure how this movie was going to play, but it is a thriller and it did keep me on the edge of my seat --- I would probably even watch it a second time --- that's saying a lot for me.

BUT, do yourself a favor and buy it used on amazon marketplace or rent it...

This was one of the worst Sci Fi movies ever! You have to turn the car off or the EM pulse will fry it? Pretty sure it will still fry the electronics when it's off, probably won't kill you though. The big Army truck gets fried as do the guys in it and the good Dr says it fried the the battery and starter. He whips out his cute little red tool box and swaps the battery and alternator from their Jeep Liberty and the big diesel starts! Yeah, right. Apparently the biggest nuclear bombs ever made are pretty light, it only took four guys to load them into the truck, how did they get them into the Russian sub that just happened to be on the west coast? An old Russian Diesel sub can make it to the bottom of the Marianas Trench? 36,000 feet down? Really? And the guy with the pacemaker, why didn't the earlier EM pulses fry his pacemaker? These are just some of the gross abuses of reality, there are many more, don't bother unless you want something to laugh at, in disbelief.

This is pretty sandard fare as fare as far as 'made for tv' goes. I enjoyed it, and is better than some of the other ones I've seen.

While I give this movie credit for its quick pacing and not focusing on listless back stories, POLAR STORM doesn't rise beyond its improbable premise. The Aurora Borealis and magnetic pulse waves aren't all that terrifying and even the earthquakes become repetitious. And the resolution the same old thing. Jack Coleman sleepwalks through his role and the ending simply incredulous. It's not awful, just routine.

A massive comet fragment sends planet Earth spinning off its axis, prompting a series of unprecedented natural disasters that threaten the very future of mankind. With his wife and teenage so in mortal danger, Dr. James Mayfield calls on his crack research team to help realign the planet's axis before the effects of the catastrophe are irreversible.

Decent acting and direction. The writing leaves something to be desired but is passable. The special effects were not all that bad. Jack Coleman from Heroes does a decent job of playing a scientist who figures out that the Earth is going through a pole shift due to a comet strike. Some of the plot points were of course a tad bit silly. All in all a formulaic disaster movie touching on all the stereotypical elements. It is passable for entertainment as long as you do not take it too seriously.

I'm a geologist and a Sci Fi Channel movie fan. And I found Polar Storm to be a solid geological movie. In fact it's one of my favorite natural disaster movies! It's got solid scientific substance even though some of it may have been stretched a little, and it's entertaining and keeps you hooked in. As a geologist, I enjoyed all the geological references, and yes, there was some stretching of the truth, but there was still quite a bit of solid science!
I don't know how many of you know that most Sci Fi movie concepts come from real life scientific facts and the concepts are not as out there as we think they are. Next time you are watching a Sci Fi movie that you think is out there, look up the general concept on the internet and see if there is any truth in the real world. I would be willing to bet that 90% of Sci Fi movie concepts are based on real life things. Just about all the virus movies, space movies and geological movies are based on things that are already a reality or could happen and scientist are concerned about.
Anyway, Polar Storm is a good movie considering it's a Sci Fi Channel movie and it's worthwhile to see. You can't beat the price either!

A Sy Fy original movie, Polar Storm (2009) is a poorly written film that you will probably regret watching. As planetary disaster films go, it features a variation on the typical Earth impacted by a comet scenario, but it is still jam packed with a ton of standard clichés, B-grade special effects, bad acting, and a silly plot. As we have seen numerous times before, saving the planet will depend on yet another mission involving the launch of nuclear weapons.

After being struck by a comet, astrophysicist James Mayfield (Jack Coleman) is the only one who realizes that the planet's magnetic field has shifted, spelling disaster for life on earth. Mayfield's estranged father is a US Army general (Terry David Mulligan) who deals directly with the President (Roger Cross). The Government is skeptical about Mayfield's theories, but after the messed up magnetic fields generate destructive electromagnetic pulses (emp's) and cause the earth's surface to crack open (amazingly the fissures seem to mirror the path of roadways), it becomes clear that James Mayfield is correct.

To save the planet, the President backs Mayfield's plan to set off nuclear explosions in the Mariana trench, deep beneath the sea. The only functional submarine is an old Russian vessel moored on the west coast, and both Mayfields are aboard for a suicide mission to save the planet. The sub makes the journey which should take days, in no time at all. Mayfield, who is apparently also an expert in nuclear weapons, arms the bombs. The sub launches the bombs, and then heads into a live volcano on the ocean floor as the only possible route for survival. This ploy is so hokey that the film fades out, and when action resumes the world has been saved. What a chicken way to end this disaster of a movie.

The filler to pad out this tense drama, concerns Mayfield's schoolteacher wife (Holly Dignard), and his annoying "troubled" son. Sadly, their attempts to survive may be more interesting the adventure to save the planet. With central characters that are badly written and annoying, and a dumb plot, there's not much to recommend about this film. If you wish to punish yourself, you may be able to view it Sy Fy, before you consider spending your hard earned coin.

I never go into my icky bug looking for scientific fact, but in the case of Polar Storm, they went over the top with ridiculous science and mechanics. Do I care? Not really. However, in this case, some of the holes in the story I noticed because they hit me over the head.

First off, when the waves of the electronic field hit, turning off all power should prevent everything from getting fried. Not really, but I could have accepted that if they had made it a bit more realistic. Any car built from the 80's on has a computer in it. The newer models have even more complex computers. What they all have in common is that just because you shut the ignition off, doesn't mean everything is off. The computer is still idling unless you disconnect the battery. They didn't do this. Guess what? After the surge, they wouldn't be able to turn the car back on because the computer is fried. And, what about the digital clock? That should have zapped everyone in the front seat. And the only way to completely kill power in cell phones and I-pods is to disconnect the battery.

Next is the trusty old Russian diesel submarine. They have 24 hours to travel from California to the Mariannas Trench. That would take a diesel sub at least a week or more, if they run on the surface and don't have bad weather. Not only that, but to run so deep they would be dodging volcanic vents is not only dumb, but beyond the depth range of the sub. Even though it is a relatively antique sub, unless they had ALL power down during one of the surges, they are just as susceptible to the electronic surges as anyone. I guess they were not near one of the polar nexus points and got away with it.

As a side note, when they sent that bomber to drop the nukes, I would think the pilots would have enough sense to avoid the plotted nexus points so they wouldn't fall out of the sky. Also, when a plane loses power, it doesn't blow up and neither would the nukes it's carrying. That brings up the question of how the sub, which had to travel several thousand miles in 24 hours, managed to dodge the nexus points.

Another thing. The Mariannas Trench is 31,000 feet (plus change) deep. The max depth of the modern nuclear sub is about 2,400 feet. An antique diesel would be even less, probably half that. Even the volcanic vents they were dodging are much deeper than that.

Finally let's talk about the nukes themselves. The hero has to set the timers in them. He opens a flimsy access plate that has (I just happened to notice), no rubber seal around the edges. Not only that, it would have to be several inches thick to be able to withstand the depth of the Mairannas Trench. That timer would have shorted out the second they depressurized the chamber used to drop it out of the sub.

Does all this bother me? Not really. I noticed it, yeah, but the movie, as a whole was thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, I even got a kick out of laughing at the wacky science and mechanics. What kept it from five stars was that they never even tried to make it plausible. Most icky bug movies don't worry much about the real science, but it isn't as blatant as it was in this one. Still recommended.