Polar Storm (2009)

A comet passes near the Earth and disturbs Earth's magnetic field.

Director:

Paul Ziller

Writers:

Jason Bourque (story), Paul Ziller

Stars:

Jack Coleman, Holly Elissa, Tyler Johnston

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Coleman	...	Dr. James Mayfield
Holly Elissa	...	Cynthia Mayfield (as Holly Dignard)
Tyler Johnston	...	Shane Mayfield
Terry David Mulligan	...	General Mayfield
Roger Cross	...	President
David Lewis	...	Lou Vanetti
Rob Morton	...	Michael
Emma Lahana	...	Zoe
Nicholas Carella	...	Peter
Marsha Regis	...	Pam
Scott Lyster	...	Kevin
Jay Brazeau	...	Dr. Elman
Dean Redman	...	Sergeant
Donovan Cerminara	...	Soldier - Roadblock
Brent Stait	...	Guard Captain

Storyline

A comet passes near the Earth and disturbs Earth's magnetic field.

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Taglines:

The end is here

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some disturbing images

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pole Reversal

Filming Locations:

BC Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinetel Films,Insight Film Studios,Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The opening scenes are full of technobabble and gobbledygook. For example, when the comet appears, a character says the radiation level has risen to 4.5 Angstroms; however, an Angstrom is a unit of distance, one ten billionth of a meter, used to describe wavelength of radiation not level of intensity. Another character mentions that the comet has reached "orbital fulcrum"; that is a meaningless term used solely to give the ignorant viewer the impression that the speaker is a rocket scientist.

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Quotes

Captain Yolenkov: So, we work together to save world, no?
General Mayfield: Yes, Dr. May-field will formulate the detonation sequence.

User Reviews

Not so bad ...

This movie is along the lines of most Sci-Fi Channel movies, but definitely a tad better - mostly because it tackles a different theme (magnetic storms / polar shift) and has a good lead character.

The basic setup of the story is that a fragment of a comet has hit earth and strange electrical storms are popping up in multiple locations. There are two sub-stories: (1) a scientist (Jack Coleman from the TV series "Heroes") tries to warn the government that the storms are going to get worst, not better and (2) the scientist's son and wife are trying to escape an area hit by one of the storms.

One thing that's very impressive is that the story can be effectively told within the budgetary constraints typical to these types of movies. The filmmakers put just the right amount into effects (simple, but passable), locations (small towns/open roads) and the number of characters (very few) to make it work.

Furthermore, Jack Coleman and Holly Dignard (who plays his wife) are decently interesting to watch - so that helps. Both carry an air of seriousness that helps keep the atmosphere of the movie in urgency mode.

If you're sick of the channel's overused themes (mutant undead/rat/insect/etc.), then this is a step up from that. It's not really good or great, but if you're hunting for sci-fi on TV and nothing else is on ... might as well watch this.