Jet Stream

Sadly, an example of what SyFy still does today.

Good plot concept, even unique. What a chance to do something really great! Decent actors in front of the camera, and the guys behind the cameras obviously know what they are doing.

Yet the plot is so poorly implemented as to be beyond belief. Did no on review the script before taking on the movie? Did no one think to send it back for a revision or 12?

What's more, and this is CLASSIC SyFy, the stages are absolute junk. 'Oh wow, the actor is using one thing that looks so futuristic and space age' ... yet the rest of the staging and scenery is complete sparse garbage. And you thought that was OK?

I understand that this as much driven by the script writers (calling them that is being overly kind) with their staging and SyFy management, that can't get out of their way in making a mess of everything good they touch.

I've not seen this film and I might not. Yet, this is no less a review.

I'm responding to a patient falsehood, or urban myth, concerning Hollywood's some time lack of actual presentation of the military in film. Not too surprisingly there isn't any U.S. law preventing a movie production involved in the portrayal of armed forces personnel to use correct military uniforms, along with proper grooming. In fact, presenting any military force in its proper array, in film, is advisable. It was plainly determined by the US Supreme Court in the case SCHACHT v. UNITED STATES, 398 U.S. 58 (1970).

So if the production company and director fail to present proper military uniforms, with correct placement of unit patches, rank tabs, and ribbons and other such accessories, and grooming is deplorable, then, in my opinion, the script/acting isn't much better anyway. Yes, this is a blind and very arbitrary judgment of a film I've not seen. But, I'm also operating from experience, as both a military veteran and a avid movie goer.

Where to start ?

Let's just say that the actors in this movie are well aware that their performance here is not going to land them even a janitor position in the same frame as an A-list actor. The actors are either bland, or prone to confuse hysteria with passion. Then again, the script gives nothing to be passionate about, so maybe hysteria was the best bet.

Memorable quote : "She's going to call the telephone company and put a trace on this call. You don't want that to happen !" says the hero to his jailer. What ? His girlfriend can call the telephone company and have the call traced ? Sorry, I must have missed the part where it was mentioned that she was FBI, Secret Service or had even the most tenuous connection to some person of authority who could actually have that put in place for her. Whatever the love interest's job is, it has nothing near the clout needed to pull that off.

Then we have the entire premise of the film : that a weatherman has modeled climate on his laptop to be able to predict extreme weather conditions. No offense to weathermen, I happen to know that their job actually requires level of mathematics way beyond my own, but this guy is no weatherman, he's just the TV announcer. The day we have a genius TV announcer who happens to hold a PhD in thermodynamics and is content with smiling on camera while pointing to fluffy white clouds on a blue screen, call me and I will revise my opinion of this film.

If you're stone drunk or high as a kite, this might be viewed as passable entertainment. Otherwise, stay clear.

Even by the extremely low standards of SyFy Channel disaster movies, JET STREAM is a particularly poor movie, excruciating in fact. It's the usual CGI-fuelled disaster nonsense, yes, but the problem here is that the lead is this ultra-annoying TV weatherman who ends up advising scientists and military personnel who can't work stuff out for themselves.

The weatherman is introduced in the most excruciating 'comedy' scene ever via a series of bloopers at his workplace. I'm not sure what's worse, the cringe-worthy acting or the scriptwriter's ill-advised attempts at 'humour'. Needless to say that none of this is funny, even remotely funny, while the disaster shenanigans are low rent and annoying. The SyFy Channel will have to do very badly indeed to make a worse film than this one.

There are obviously terrible movies than this, but this is a complete loss of the precious and valuable time, It's not about big cast or anything, but rather more critically about how you make a decent film, it doesn't make any difference if it's a B Movie, You can watch it only when you're drunk that might give you a jet lag with a jet stream.