The grandpappy of disaster movies, and I have to say, we’ve seen all these tropes before, but 1) it’s because this movie gave birth to many of them, 2) it still works, and 3) what BALLS to…well, I won’t spoil you if you’ve never seen it (and I think there’s a remake in the works?), but it’s a pretty sacked-up move dramatically in the third act. Because you’re sort of thinking, “Well, of course they did that with that charact– WHOA.” Anyway, pretty good stuff. Hackman’s character is kind of annoying, but it’s for a purpose, and at the end, you wonder if maybe most of that bluster weren’t depression. A classic. (12/29/05)

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