Polar Storm

Alright, well first of all I would like to say that this movie is somewhat of a step up for TV aired disaster movies, both in storyline, effects and cast.

Initially, I hadn't heard anything about the movie, so I was expecting something in the likes of "The Day After Tomorrow", because I was thinking in the terms of polar caps, not magnetic poles. But the movie turned out to be quite interesting nonetheless.

The story was actually quite good and takes a hold of you, and you want to sit through the entire movie and see how it ends. Although, and hold on to your hats, you already know the outcome of the movie from the very beginning. Yes, it is one of those type of disaster movies.

Throughout the movie there is a handful of CGI effects that weren't too shabby, truth be told. Of course it is not major Hollywood million dollar effects, but they still managed to pull it off adequately enough.

And the cast of the movie, well the people chosen for the individual roles actually did good jobs with their characters and portraying them. I especially liked the performance of Jack Coleman (playing Dr. James Mayfield) and Holly Dignard (playing Cynthia Mayfield). But the other people in the movie did good jobs as well.

"Polar Storm" is actually a much needed breath of fresh air in an otherwise genre of TV disaster movies that are suffering from horrible effects and laughable story lines. "Polar Storm" manages to captivate and keep your thralled throughout the entire course, despite its predictive nature.

The ending was, well, not really that believable, but hey, it is a movie, and just meant for entertainment. Oh, and one thing did puzzle me, when the chunk of ice struck Alaska and wrought havoc, how did Dr. James Mayfield manage to get transportation back to the USA? Just something to think about...

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.

I do dislike a vast majority of SyFy's films, though in all honesty I don't revel in tarnishing them no matter how much some of them deserve it. Polar Storm is not their worst, either The Apocalypse or Alien vs. Hunter, but it is down there. Visually, it looks alright at first, but then from the half-way mark to the end, the special effects look slapdash and done with no heart and the editing becomes increasingly half-hearted. The story is another problem, for its running time like I've said with a few SyFy movies it is very thin and the ending feels like a farce more than anything else and a very predictable one at that. The script is trite complete with illogical lapses and scientific factual errors, and the characters are clichéd and I didn't care for any of them, and my guess is the actors didn't either. And the acting was so wooden from across the board. Overall, as much as I liked the theme that they tried to tackle, Polar Storm is a mess. 1/10 Bethany Cox

As far as this movie goes it's pretty safe to say that its' not going to win any awards so I have to agree with those reviewers that have said it it isn't in their top 10 so-to-speak. However, I DON'T agree with several who seem to have gone out of their way to castigate the film in every way possible either. It's obvious that the budget was low and bearing that in mind I think the overall result wasn't that bad at all. The acting was fairly sound, Jack Coleman, Holly Elissa and Terry Mulligan were convincing in their respective roles - and I think one reviewers 'apology' for Canada producing such a rubbish film was both unnecessary and over-the-top. The subject matter about shifting Poles causing Magnetic Storms after a Meteor hits earth is a well-used one we know BUT this WAS really more of a family-film type entertainment and NOT in the genre of Alien or Predator.The scenery used was impressive and I think as 'Family Entertainment' there has been a lot worse.

It was fun watching this movie, as it shows how good, really good movies are difficult to make. In a world that surrounds itself with electronics, movie goers have become familiar with how all things electrical work. It's not good enough to come up with some bad science, illogical concepts or half hearted graphics to satisfy a savvy audience. If the Director can't afford good graphics, get good actors, can't afford good actors, write great dialogue, no great writing, choose beautiful scenery..... but don't combine the least of everything and expect to have a memorable product. Polar Storm is the perfect storm of all the worst that B movies possess. Now that I've unloaded on this half-hearted attempt at a Sci-Fi video romp, It has some redeeming features. Canadians watching this will recognize places they know, we get to see some newbies put in front of a camera and watch earth take a licking and keep on ticking. The best line , and perhaps the funniest ....when sonny shouts to Stepmom hanging on for dear life over a bottomless crevice...." Don't let go!" If you like to see what not to do as a Director, this is the movie for you.