On Wednesday, June 7, 2023, the air quality in Northeast America was rated as unhealthy to hazardous, depending on location. This part of the country experiences several days of haziness due to high humidity and high temps during July and August. What made June 7th unusual was its pleasant 78^O outside. The conditions are due to a wildfire in Nova Scotia, Canada. I guess I wrote all of this to document what is happening but it’s also a perfect transition into what I truly want to write about: Disaster Movies. I love Disaster Movies, in fact I’m watching one right now.

Since the dawn of movie making, there have been disaster films. However, they did not gain mass popularity until the 1970s. A disaster movie is a genre with an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device[1]. Or, in my opinion, a horror movie with nature trying to kill everyone, and occasionally the disaster is caused by a person. The commonalities of these films are a sizable all-star cast, an expert that no one is listening to, a business person or government official whose investments or political standing are more important than people, and a group of people that need to be saved. Occasionally, a romance may be thrown in to spice up the plot.

Last year, I watched a lousy disaster movie and asked myself, “What makes a good disaster movie?” This question has been running around my head for a few months; finally, I have developed the following criteria for an excellent disaster movie.

1. The science behind the disaster must be believable, something I could see happening in the real world.
2. The “escape” or resolution should be plausible.
3. The hero and people needing to be saved must be likable, so there must be some character development.
4. A heroic sacrifice.
5. The effects should be excellent, and the stunts should be decent.

The following are my favorite disaster films; I watch them constantly.

The Day After Tomorrow (2004), global warming causes the next ice age. From beginning to end, I find this movie to be a perfect disaster movie. It hits all of my points; I like the main characters, the science is more than believable, as is the fact that there is no resolution to the problem, just everyone dealing with it. This is the movie I watch if a hurricane, blizzard, or other extreme weather is happening. Available to rent on all streaming platforms.

Airport! (1970, is considered the first of the modern disaster films. There is a blizzard in the Midwest shutting down a major airport when a suicidal man detonates a bomb on an airplane. The pilots must land the damaged plane. What I like most about this movie is that there are some injuries, but the only person who dies is the bomber. Actress Helen Hayes won an Oscar for her role as an elderly stowaway. It is currently streaming on Netflix.

The Poseidon Adventure (1972), a tidal wave capsizes an ocean liner on its way to Europe. The survivors are looking for a way to the bottom of the ship to be rescued. Act 1 of this movie is a little longer than it needs to be. However, it was necessary to care that the people get saved. Available to rent on all streaming platforms.

Armageddon (1998), an asteroid, hurtles through space toward Earth, prepared to end all life as we know it. This one is good right up until the resolution. I do not believe a nuclear weapon would destroy an asteroid. Available on Max.

The following movies I found to be disappointing.

Moonfall (2022) The premise of this movie is intriguing, the moon falls out of its orbit and is about to crash into Earth. What this movie got wrong was why the moon was knocked off orbit; it made absolutely no sense. Available on Max.

Poseidon (2006) Unlike the original, this film did not care about character development; consequently, I didn’t care about the characters. The writers just wanted to get to the disaster and escape. While watching this movie, I was rooting for the water to take all of them out. Available to rent on all streaming platforms.

San Andreas (2015), a rescue-chopper pilot, travels with his ex-wife across the state to rescue his daughter after a massive earthquake at the San Andreas fault. My issue with the movie is I did not have an opportunity to care about the characters before they were put in danger. Available on Max.

Disaster films can be a fun way to spend the afternoon. Now you tell me, what are some of your favorite disaster films? What films should I add to my queue?

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[1] (n.d.). Disaster film. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disaster_filmdi