GetPapa Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

zaluya Shortly you can say this movie is about several polar storms going around having its fun with electronics, which causes a serious deal for people.It's pretty obvious that the makers of this movie did not do their research behind what a polar storm actually is, or what such things may do to electronic devices and such.The first part of the movie they're driving around dodging the solar storm (the scientist's son and his wife), where as suddenly, for some reason the ground decides to break up.Now, I know it sounds weird (and it is), because this could not have happened. Ever. The thing is pretty much that for some reason the devices explode (I know it's a Sci-Fi, but come on, devices would de-activate, not explode), and unless the whole ground is covered in metal or some other stuff, it wouldn't have "disbanded". But let's get back to the "main story" and "what happens" in the movie itself. The first part is as mentioned above, and the son thinks his mom is dead or, whatever, which leads us on of around 40 minutes of what happened before this "event" with his mom, then goes back to seeing the son trying to rescue the mom, after spending some time not looking down for her. For some other reason the dad is at a submarine and underwater volcanoes suddenly start erupting for no obvious reason, as it wouldn't have been affected by any of the elements in this movie. It ends with an explosion and not so surprising normal American movie where the dad sacrifices himself to save the world. Everyone is thankful and it ends well, I guess.Personally I wouldn't see this if I could go back in time, but if you just want a break from the normal sci-fi stuff, then this is probably worth seeing.However it looks like they replaced the graphics department at the end of the movie, giving it a half-good look at the end part.

Vic_max This movie is along the lines of most Sci-Fi Channel movies, but definitely a tad better - mostly because it tackles a different theme (magnetic storms / polar shift) and has a good lead character.The basic setup of the story is that a fragment of a comet has hit earth and strange electrical storms are popping up in multiple locations. There are two sub-stories: (1) a scientist (Jack Coleman from the TV series "Heroes") tries to warn the government that the storms are going to get worst, not better and (2) the scientist's son and wife are trying to escape an area hit by one of the storms.One thing that's very impressive is that the story can be effectively told within the budgetary constraints typical to these types of movies. The filmmakers put just the right amount into effects (simple, but passable), locations (small towns/open roads) and the number of characters (very few) to make it work.Furthermore, Jack Coleman and Holly Dignard (who plays his wife) are decently interesting to watch - so that helps. Both carry an air of seriousness that helps keep the atmosphere of the movie in urgency mode.If you're sick of the channel's overused themes (mutant undead/rat/insect/etc.), then this is a step up from that. It's not really good or great, but if you're hunting for sci-fi on TV and nothing else is on ... might as well watch this.

bababear Shown tonight under the title SOLAR STORM, this turned out to be a really good little movie. Sci-Fi is famous (infamous?) for taking really good story ideas and turning them into disappointing movies that can't deliver on their promise.SOLAR STORM is primarily set in a pleasant small town in Washington State (played, of course, by Canadian locations) where a famous scientist and his wife, who's a science teacher, and his teenage stepson live in harmony until the Earth's magnetic poles start doing really strange things.It seems that a big piece of a comet's tail hit the Earth in Alaska and did some serious damage. Then Dr. James Mayfield (played by Jack Coleman from the TV series "Heroes" discovers that the sun isn't setting in the place where it ought to.It seems that the earth has shifted on its axis and the poles are in the process of reversing. The last time that happened was about a million years ago, and if it happens now there will be no living thing on the planet.Director Paul Ziller has enough sense not to bite off more than he can chew. There are no detailed scenes of destruction in big cities with thousands of extras running in terror. He focuses the attention on the Mayfields and their town, and doesn't try to fake big budget special effects.What's done is done pretty well. And the performers are strong enough to keep up our interest. Since my daughter was writing a paper for a college class I watched using headphones, and the sound effects are very effective.Need I add that the authorities- including the President and Dr. Mayfield's father , General Mayfield (the two haven't spoken for five years)- want to ignore the call for alarm and calm the population that everything is all right? Would it surprise you that Mayfield's stepson is unhappy about his mother's remarriage (it's not mentioned specifically, but the boy's stepfather is about 24 years older than his wife)? This is not a work of original ideas. A little Armageddon, a touch of DEEP IMPACT, a possible solution to the problem that's borrowed from the very fine 1961 film THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE, and a rescue that comes courtesy of Jules Verne's JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH.There's even a little bit of subtext about parent/child relationships and the issue of whether to blindly trust authority or to trust your instincts.Good work, Sci-Fi Channel. Well done.

VomisaCaassi 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.*Spoiler* Some of the plot points were of course a tad silly. Mainly a diesel sub traveling from Alaska to the Marianas trench to deliver a nuke in less than 2 days. Not to mention some of the science.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.