10.5/Category 6: Day of Destruction

What can I say? Do you love disaster flicks? This is the double combo that you've been looking for, almost. Since there are 2 movies on this disc I'll take each one separately.

10.5 - This is the weaker of the two disaster movies on this disc, this originally aired as a mini-series on TV. It has some "real" footage mixed in with the CGI destruction but the one thing that is really annoying about this particular movie is the constant zooming in and out of the camera. It can create some tension in some scenes but the entire thing is shot like this which actually becomes a little distracting. I wouldn't say it ruins the movie. Some of the CGI effects are horrible but c'mon it's a made for TV disaster flick. The pacing is a little strange and they really try to build the stories in the first part of this movie while the second part really focuses on the destruction of the upcoming 10.5.

The story is about a series of earthquakes that threaten the entire west coast. The film starts in Seattle where a 7.1 destroys the Space Needle and other structures nearby which sets off a series of larger and larger earthquakes. While the science behind this movie is probably false, that doesn't matter when you are watching a disaster movie! Suspend your intelligence and just get some popcorn and enjoy the destruction.

The acting is passable, neither terrific or horrible but I personally thought Beau Bridges really comes off well as the President.

This was directed by John Lafia of Child's Play fame so there is some good pacing and some tension building up to the climax. I would give it *** stars out of 5. Not bad but not great.

Category 6 - Day of Destruction - This was also a mini-series on TV but boy does this one deliver. I ended up watching the whole thing in one sitting (approximately 3 hours). The pacing is non stop, unlike other disaster films, usually there is a long character development portion and this movie really doesn't waste time doing that. They jump right in to the action. The first scene of Las Vegas being devastated by tornadoes is pretty convincing and the CGI is relatively well done.

The plot revolves around two massive storm systems coming together over Chicago, from the South a series of tornadoes and from the North a hurricane?!? Huh? Whatever, it's all in the name of destruction! The more the better in this type of film I say! There are some shots of "real" footage thrown in mixed with the CGI effects but this really isn't too distracting. The science in this one, questionable but again who cares, this is a popcorn movie and the tension in it really mounts as the storm approaches.

The acting in this movie is pretty good for this type of picture, occasionally over the top but not so much so that it's distracting. I really found this to be a fun flick and more entertaining than 10.5. Fast pacing and great camerawork really helped this one excel. ****1/2 stars out of 5.

There is a separate disc for each movie. Both of these started as a two part mini-series on the major networks in 2004. This helps explain why neither is in wide screen format. Both have very good casts for a TV movie. And both have a lot of pretty good special effects, mostly CGI effects though. I saw them both on TV during the original run. And I saw them both on cable... SciFi channel probably. And finally I just watched them again. Since I was able to watch them multple times I give them both 3 stars.

10.5 was from NBC and follows the story of an earthquake measuring 10.5 on the Richter scale. It is the better of the two movies. The science is very implausible, but two things are a little unique... first, no villain is named, the earthquake is simply presented as an act of God. (The second unique thing involves the ending and I would rather not give it away.) 10.5 is not great art, but it is worth watching. And it had an easy time being the better of these two movies.

Category 6: Day of Destruction was from CBS. The "Category 6" refers both to the Fujita scale for tornadoes and to the Saffir-Simpson scale for hurricanes although I doubt that the writers realize there is a difference. In any event, a category 6 hurricane comes down from the north pole (!) while several category 6 tornadoes travel north. The hurricane and the tornadoes join up somehow to become a super storm which pounds Chicago. And Chicago was already suffering from a power outage. The movie quickly glosses over the screwball science and wisely makes no effect to explain what might cause it. Instead the focus is on subplots involving the affected people, which is a positive, but it names all the usual villians and has all the usual heroes. There are too many subplots, however this is a blessing. It has a pretty good cast, especially Brian Dennehy. This helps a lot.

Both movies have sequels: 10.5 Apocalypse and Category 7: The End of the World. Both sequels are available as a Blu-Ray double feature which is sold on Amazon. Link to the sequels: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00197XF5A

Okay, I'll admit my secret pleasure is watching films that destroy the world. The combo of 'Day of Destruction: Category 6' and '10.5' follow the usual plots of these types of movie. However, I love how in '10.5', despite everyone's best efforts, the earthquake happens and the US loses most of southern California. I find that a far more realistic approach than the norm of : humans win out over nature. It adds to the delusion we can do anything about climate change. We can't. in the sequel to '10.5' the best line is : 'The Earth will do what it wants'.

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