This movie plays out like a basic disaster movie: "crazy" people warning about the disaster, government awareness of the issue, greed winning over safety, environmental impact, okay acting, backstory, and exposition, blah blah blah.
But... somewhere around the 45-minute mark (of a two-hour movie), something clicked for me. The acting was okay, but the raw emotions of the characters got me. Our hero was scared and traumatized young man, who wasn't afraid to announce his fear but risks his life anyway. The President isn't actively being ignorant, his team knows he's morally sound and would have stopped them from cutting corners. The mother isn't a rude old hag, she's mentally frail...
There's no winning and that's why it hurts.
I can openly admit to crying starting around 1:20 minutes. The last 30 ish minutes of the film had me struggling to breathe through my sobs. I don't even know if it was that sad, but seeing the radiation poisoning, seeing civilians being tossed around like just numbers, getting to know these characters, it's like seeing a documentary after a tragedy and feeling the pain as you watch.
But... somewhere around the 45-minute mark (of a two-hour movie), something clicked for me. The acting was okay, but the raw emotions of the characters got me. Our hero was scared and traumatized young man, who wasn't afraid to announce his fear but risks his life anyway. The President isn't actively being ignorant, his team knows he's morally sound and would have stopped them from cutting corners. The mother isn't a rude old hag, she's mentally frail...
There's no winning and that's why it hurts.
I can openly admit to crying starting around 1:20 minutes. The last 30 ish minutes of the film had me struggling to breathe through my sobs. I don't even know if it was that sad, but seeing the radiation poisoning, seeing civilians being tossed around like just numbers, getting to know these characters, it's like seeing a documentary after a tragedy and feeling the pain as you watch.