Judging strictly on a realism scale (and perhaps a cheesiness scale) I would have given this one a 6 or 7. It gets the bonus point for a few moments and references that are genuinely hilarious if you are quick enough to catch them.
Part Groundhog Day, part Run Lola Run (without the awesome soundtrack), we follow a scientist working on a LHC-type project trying to fly from London to NYC for the big experiment. We cycle through the day repeatedly with different scenarios unfolding:
1) A massive tsunami hitting NYC; 2) A meteor storm and incoming larger meteor; 3) A new pandemic; 4) The Yellowstone caldera finally blows; 5) The LNC does, in fact, produce a black hole
I think this could have been an amazingly intelligent 'what if' (or, as the movie's mantra says "not what if, but when") scenario projection with some thoughtful commentary on such events, but it was largely reduced to a scientific summation in each instance.
I also found that the idea of parallel events (people who cross the Dr.'s path on his way to the airport, etc) could have been even more flushed out, but that would have made it more of a two-hour movie rather than a 1-hour spoonful of docudrama. It would have made this much stronger though.
As 3 and 4 are the most likely scenarios, it was very sobering to watch. And 1 is certainly more plausible with the recent footage of Superstorm Sandy's effects on a populous city like NY. Sadly the 5th was laughable, but perhaps that was the point? Why worry about a particle collider (which we now know, went onward with its experiment without catastrophic results) when we have scenarios that are far more likely?
Part Groundhog Day, part Run Lola Run (without the awesome soundtrack), we follow a scientist working on a LHC-type project trying to fly from London to NYC for the big experiment. We cycle through the day repeatedly with different scenarios unfolding:
1) A massive tsunami hitting NYC; 2) A meteor storm and incoming larger meteor; 3) A new pandemic; 4) The Yellowstone caldera finally blows; 5) The LNC does, in fact, produce a black hole
I think this could have been an amazingly intelligent 'what if' (or, as the movie's mantra says "not what if, but when") scenario projection with some thoughtful commentary on such events, but it was largely reduced to a scientific summation in each instance.
I also found that the idea of parallel events (people who cross the Dr.'s path on his way to the airport, etc) could have been even more flushed out, but that would have made it more of a two-hour movie rather than a 1-hour spoonful of docudrama. It would have made this much stronger though.
As 3 and 4 are the most likely scenarios, it was very sobering to watch. And 1 is certainly more plausible with the recent footage of Superstorm Sandy's effects on a populous city like NY. Sadly the 5th was laughable, but perhaps that was the point? Why worry about a particle collider (which we now know, went onward with its experiment without catastrophic results) when we have scenarios that are far more likely?