Meltdown: Days of Destruction (2006)

Despite scientist Nathan's warnings, his boss continues an experiment meant as publicity for his satellite firm: exploding an asteroid. Instead it splits, and the major piece, the size of ... See full summary »

Director:

J.P. Howell

Writer:

Rick Drew

Stars:

Casper Van Dien, Vincent Gale, Stefanie von Pfetten

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Casper Van Dien	...	Tom
Vincent Gale	...	Nathan
Stefanie von Pfetten	...	Carly
Venus Terzo	...	Bonnie
Amanda Crew	...	Kimberly
Ryan McDonell	...	C.J.
Greg Anderson	...	Mick
Bill Dow	...	Olsen
Patricia Drake	...	ER Nurse
Philip Granger	...	Frank
David Quinlan	...	Gary
Dee Jay Jackson	...	Fire Chief
Donovan Cerminara	...	Goon Leader
Bruno Verdoni	...	Garner
Derek Hamilton	...	Rat Leader

Storyline

Despite scientist Nathan's warnings, his boss continues an experiment meant as publicity for his satellite firm: exploding an asteroid. Instead it splits, and the major piece, the size of Iceland, changes course to earth. It is deflected but so close that it shift our course closer to the sun, causing rapid extreme heating, hopefully only mid-term. Nathan warns his sister, TV journalist Carly, and she her lover, police detective Tom. He brings his unruly daughter Kim, her ex-con lover C.J. and her mother, nurse Bonnie, when Nathan offers a flight to a friend's Arctic weather station. Tom takes charge of a dangerous trip to the airport, as everywhere on earth things catch fire and people fight for water, transport and sheer looting.

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Plot Keywords:

looting | nurse | scientist | fire | fight | 

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Taglines:

The earth is burning!

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 June 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Meltdown: Days of Destruction

Filming Locations:

West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Front Street Pictures, PorchLight Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Not to be confused with an old John Carpenter project called "Meltdown", a 1977-1978 adaptation of the "Prometheus Cris" novel, later set to star Dolph Lundgren and to be directed by John Dahl in 1994. But even though Casper Van Dien had also been attached to it in 1997-1998, that project had nothing to do with "Meltdown: Days of Destruction". Writer/director of Rick Drew developed the story from scratch and claims he had never heard of the Carpenter script and received sole credit from the WGA.

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Goofs

The group takes a 'refrigerated truck' in order to have cool air for the engine and gas tank, but when they are driving away it is obvious that the drivers compartment is completely open to the rest of the interior - this would be a problem during normal use as it would freeze the driver.

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Connections

References Clueless (1995)

User Reviews

Ridiculous But Fun

"Meltdown" is a disaster (tele)movie about really hot weather starring Casper Van Dien. That one sentence is probably enough to make most people run for cover but as a disaster movie devotee and long suffering fan of Mr Van Dien, I found "Meltdown" pretty irresistible.

You could drive a semi-trailer through the holes in the film's plot. In short, scientists fire a nuclear weapon into a meteor with the intention of developing a meteor defence program. However, instead of fragmenting, a large chunk of the rock heads towards earth only to be deflected. Unfortunately, the near miss manages to push the earth out of orbit, dragging it towards the sun and resulting in really hot weather.

Casper plays Tom, a police officer, who attempts to save his family and new girlfriend from the heatwave and protect them from the looters who have taken over the city. This synopsis actually makes the film sound more interesting than it is. In reality, most of the film involves sweaty people walking around looking for water. Strangely, it never enters anyone's head to turn on a tap or purchase a beverage from a vending machine. Things get a bit more exciting towards the end of the film when rogue policemen capture the brother of Tom's new girlfriend. This at least gives Casper the opportunity to wrap a shirt around his head and shoot a gun.

The extent to which you will enjoy "Meltdown" surely depends on your view of Van Dien. Personally, I find something deeply hypnotic about Casper's cheesy, square jawed persona and his determination to appear in trashy, straight-to-TV action thrillers. He reminds me of Zoolander with guns. Despite my appreciation for Casper's body of telemovie work, I would still like to see him make the occasional film that actually gains a cinematic release.

In addition to Casper's stunning acting performance, further "Meltdown" highlights include a couple of exploding cars, a bad CGI meteor and some hilariously improbable science. The other actors in the film are all competent, with Venus Terzo a standout as Tom's first love, Bonnie. Amanda Crew also makes an impression as Tom's daughter.