Panique sur Seattle

There are so many disaster movies out there, both good, bad and mediocre, that it takes some effort to say this falls squarely in to the 'don't bother' category...

As a TV movie Seattle Superstorm doesn't start off well with its rather misleading title - a few dark clouds and a bit of wind does not make a Super-storm. Follow this up with dodgy acting, iffy dialogue, middle of the road effects,and worst of all terrible storyline and writing, and what you have is a disaster movie as a package and not just a genre.

Character wise I didn't mind 'dad/scientist' Tom (Esai Morales) and could tolerate 'mom/Navy Lt' Emma (Ona Grauer) (although a Lt as the highest Military adviser?) however I would happily put their kids up for adoption as both 'gearhead' Wyatt (Jared Abrahamsom) and 'ecochick' Chloe (MacKenzie Porter) are eternally grating in their sinicism and petty battles. Of course two movie teenagers whose parents are due to remarry will rarely be best buddies (unless they are too close!),however this pair should be hidden in a dark seller with boxing gloves to sort out their differences.

So what about the story? Well I for one am glad the US military will happily shoot down UFOs with apparently knowing nothing more than it was plotted by a bored tech operator in the standard 'Artic station'. And aren't we glad that the debris lands within yards of the nations disaster management officials...who just happen to be in Seattle(or Vancouver!?!..a dodgy CGI needle does not make a city!).

The result is an increasingly dangerous superstorm that threatens to destroy the world in 4 weeks which gives the perfect excuse for dodgy science to win the day - but not before the requisite near death experiences of the primary characters.

And this is what annoys me the most. In the mighty USA, so often gloating of their superiority in overcoming all threats its the same four dysfunctional family members who provide much of the knowledge and impetus in saving the world, not because its a TV movie and so you need a cheap and cheerful set of heros but seemingly because the government officials are ruled by a jerk, the armed forces are nonexistent after the initial actions, the emergency departments are awol, and even the local Seattle folks are busy just hiding in a dark corner.

I seem to have fallen asleep during the explanation of the 'alien' artifacts so no spoilers other than saying what a surprise that the Russian chief scientist just happens to wander in to the exact same Seattle Lab that the protagonists are working in at the perfect moment to give detail background to the effects and the results. Maybe the security also fell asleep...?

Overall I was pleasantly surprised - not by the movie as it was pants,but that I made it through to the end considering it wasn't even 'so bad its good' because it's really not.

I've seen worse effects, and not all the acting was terrible...and that's about it for good points. The rest of the points were negatives and the score reflects it...

3/10...avoid

We know that the Hollywood movies are produced by a certain recipe which the director of most movies gets when he joined the school somewhere in the US. When they make a certain catastrophic cinema there is a certain recipe that they better follow in order to produce "good result".

Somewhere in the beginning of the story you will see a pair of teenagers arguing about who know what in earnest and the parents doesn't seem to care and then something is flying into the US airspace. I have no idea how the airspace monitoring works, but apparently there is a single station in the middle of nowhere manned by only a single watchman who love porn.

Whatever the thing that shoot into US territory, it was partially destroyed by a missile. When you see the title, you would have expect something of the natural things which cause havoc in Seattle, but of course the this time it is not of nature so that there is a leeway to kill the Superstorm....

If you want to show a disaster in a big city of the size like Seattle, it would be logical to show the activities of the people in the city, but apparently the director forgot about it. You will see some high rise building which looks like an architect dummy models several time. To show the threat of super-storm, a little of FX animation of dark cloud. A very poor presentation of big city facing a major natural disaster.

Again, I do not how good the science project in high-school in the US, but to have some kid beats up a whole group of scientists trying to solve the problem is a bit too much. What are they trying to show ? A brilliant high-school girl or a stupid bunch of American scientists ?

The acting is alright, they behave rather well, except the father who seems a bit of out touch with the scene. Does it make any sense to anybody that a mother is worried about her teenage daughter's ability to reach home on her own ? Specially when she has a strong will daughter ? It just does not compute....

If you have some time to waste..., The Day After Tomorrow will give you a better value for your time.

This is your typical Sci-Fi Channel disaster flick except it's even worse than the average for this unfortunate sub-genre. It offers a family-focused narrative which sees a scientist and his extended relations getting to grips with some kind of supernatural storm which envelops Seattle after the army shoots down a UFO. Unfortunately this outer space menace has the power to cause tornadoes and earthquakes and the like so the humans have their work cut out to combat it.

Sadly it's a complete mess of a film, full of insipid dialogue, lame characters you instantly hate, and special effects that are bad even by Sci-Fi Channel standards. The characters are dull beyond belief even with various familiar actors playing the roles. Headlining this thing is LA BAMBA's Esai Morales, but he's the most famous the film can offer.

The ludicrous aspect of having high school students figuring out ways to combat the threat when experienced scientists and top academics are unable to do so is particularly noticeable here, and a handful of not-bad disaster sequences fail to lift this one from the mess in which it's mired.

Over the years disaster movies have found a fan base like you wouldn't believe. Most of them are a bit cheesy and make little to no sense, but still manage to attract stars as well as fans. The latest Seattle Superstorm stars Esai Morales with a title that pretty much speaks for itself, but is the forecast for disaster worth the time?

Seattle Superstorm follows a NASA scientist and Navy Lieutenant fighting to solve the mystery of strange weather phenomena causing earthquakes, tornados, and lightning storms that's threatening to destroy the entire city. Much like most of these films, this one plays like a Syfy Channel film with all the cheese and ridiculousness as expected. Here though they opted out of going to silly and attempted to keep it somewhat serious and it actually works on some level. The story is simple with a lot of aspects being a bit too convenient but not all that surprising. The effects are the usual low budget effects, but most of them work pretty well. The filmmakers clearly tried to get some tone and sense of urgency to this film that comes across well enough, which is something that is usually lacking in these films. This film deserves credit for really trying to create a good movie, which goes along way despite budget.

Obviously these films are geared towards a specific audience, that loves these low budget cheesy flicks and they are sure to be entertained. There are sure to be those that love it and cannot wait to add it to their collection, but if you don't normally check these kinds of films out you will most likely be disappointed.

During the opening credits, really bad weather wrecks havoc in Seattle, Washington. This turns out to be footage from later in the film. "Nine hours earlier," an alert arctic outpost notices an "unidentified aerial phenomenon" in the Pacific Ocean. This very wicked storm's destination is Seattle. Folks at the "Disaster Management Agency" (DMA) can't figure out why this storm is so destructive. They have several theories about its origin. Some think it may be alien. Working at the DMA are space scientist Esai Morales (as Tom) and disaster manager Ona Grauer (as Emma)...

Mr. Morales has just moved to Seattle and is planning to marry Ms. Grauer. She tells him they will have to reconsider because their school-aged children don't get along. Morales' son Jared Abrahamson (as Wyatt) and Grauer's daughter MacKenzie Porter (as Chloe) instantly dislike each other. This stormy relationship parallels the titular "Seattle Superstorm". It's a typical, predictable TV movie. Events thrust the four characters into situations where they have an opportunity to bond. Meanwhile, the storm is threatening to destroy everyone and everything in range of the cameras.

**** Seattle Superstorm (3/31/12) Jason Bourque ~ Esai Morales, Ona Grauer, Jared Abrahamson, MacKenzie Porter