Now I love disaster films.........the bigger the better is my motto; so those old fashioned pot boilers of the 1970's are my yardstick for a successful romp. Towering Inferno & Poseidon Adventure, you remember them, frilly tuxedos, every man in a bow tie and every woman in a tissue paper evening gown or hot pants, battling physical special effects, fire and water and explosions by the bucketful. They were the kings to those second generation disaster flicks of recent times such as The Day After Tomorrow and Cloverfield so it seemed inevitable that the Brits would get on the American bandwagon and produce their own disaster flick. Flood (2007) is the worst disaster film I have ever seen (well just marginally worse than Airport 75) yet I actually found myself enjoying tiny parts of it, albeit rather guiltily! Based loosely on The Day After Tomorrow we find a group of English c Lister's battling a London storm surge ( and some terrible special effects)
Skeletal Robert Carlyle is estranged from his professor father Tom Courtenay, both are experts on the Thames barrier and flooding! (like you do) A huge storm hits Britain and the two have to work together ( with Carlyle's ex wife Jessalyn Gilsig another flood expert) to save the millions of Londoners.....As thousands die in the streets, we find 
Carlyle,Gilsig, 2 heroic underground workers an unnamed woman,and father and daughter trapped at a flooded Charring Cross station( This bit was quite well done), but all tension of their escape from the dark was overshadowed by some awful "Americanization" of the rescue centre, with the Prime minister and his advisers all sat at darkened computer monitors, watching the disaster unfold "on line"......
Carlyle,Gilsig, 2 heroic underground workers an unnamed woman,and father and daughter trapped at a flooded Charring Cross station( This bit was quite well done), but all tension of their escape from the dark was overshadowed by some awful "Americanization" of the rescue centre, with the Prime minister and his advisers all sat at darkened computer monitors, watching the disaster unfold "on line"......The film's saving grace was fag hag police commissioner Patricia Nash (played a touch tongue in cheek by Joanne Whalley, power suited, lips quivering..........she kicked some military ass to save Londoners without wavering, even though her daughters were caught up in the flood in the west end!.....If only she existed in real life.........
Even though the whole thing was shit on a stick.....I kind of enjoyed watching it.
Towering Inferno is/was a great film. I have vivid childhood memories of that and The Time Machine (1960) being the best films!
ReplyDeleteAs something a bit different try Lars and the real girl, John - I've just recomended it on my blog and think you'd enjoy it.