Surely every viewer knows the feeling when the adrenaline goes off scale because something on the screen is burning, falling, exploding, seething, characters are screaming, running, someone is saved, someone is killed. Disaster films can evoke a very wide range of sensations, which is why the viewer loves them.
Stories about global cataclysms associated with the apocalypse are becoming increasingly popular. This theme has a connection with real life and warns everyone about the danger of an angry element.
Armageddon (1998)
“Armageddon” became one of the most notable films directed by Michael Bay. The plot centers on a team of drillers who are trying to save the Earth from imminent destruction. The thing is that, according to NASA forecasts, a giant asteroid is approaching our planet.
There are only a few days left before the fatal collision. And if earlier earthlings were lucky – the trajectories of cosmic bodies of this size did not intersect with the planet, now everything is much worse.
The asteroid will definitely fall to Earth, and no one will be left alive. The only way to prevent a catastrophe is to blow up the asteroid from the inside. To carry out this critical task, scientists invite the team of driller Harry Stemper. Together with his daughter and his team, as well as professional astronauts, he heads to the asteroid.
But it turned out that the surface of the asteroid is too hard for drilling, then the only way out is to detonate an atomic bomb.
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Director Roland Emmerich spoke about the consequences of a real problem – global warming. Massive melting of glaciers leads to a decrease in the temperature of the world’s oceans. These changes affect the entire ecosystem as a whole.
The climate on Earth is changing, cataclysms are occurring: large hail falls in Tokyo, long rains begin in different countries, where there were no tornadoes, they occur in incredible quantities, and snow falls in the desert.
Scientist Jack Hall warned the US government about this, but they did not listen to him in time. He was one of the first scientists to sound the alarm on the eve of the tragedy. It’s too late now. We need to prepare for the worst.
Jack’s son Sam is in New York. The city was covered by a huge wave, and then everything froze. The small group of people who survived are in danger of dying from cold and hunger. But Jack did not lose hope of seeing his son alive.
Flight (2012)
The answer to the question “are heroes being judged” was sought by director Robert Zamekis in the drama “Crew”. The film tells the story of experienced airline pilot Whip Whitaker. He devoted his entire life to aviation.
But at a certain point, the man realizes that things are not going too well for him. Whip suffers from alcohol and drug addiction.
One day he goes on another flight on a liner with 102 passengers. Due to the failure of the horizontal stabilizer and subsequent engine failure, the plane begins to fall from a height of nine thousand meters.
Despite the critical situation, Whip acts calmly and finds a solution that allows him to avoid the plane crashing and causing massive loss of life.
Waking up in the hospital, he learns that TV channels are calling his landing a miracle and praising him as a hero. But aviation regulators have a different opinion. At the hospital, Whip’s blood was tested and revealed the presence of alcohol. He now faces life in prison.
Melancholia (2011)
A poignant drama by Lars von Trier, telling about the last days of the existence of the Earth, which will die as a result of a collision with the traveling planet Melancholia. It was hidden by the Sun for a long time, and now this celestial body is approaching the Earth and it is impossible to avoid a collision.
With the imminent Apocalypse, the focus shifts to the experiences of two sisters – Justine and Claire. Each of them perceives future death differently. Justine, a bride at a lavish wedding, loses all interest in the “happiest day” of her life.
The woman is gripped by severe depression, and while the guests are having fun at her holiday, she looks at everything with eyes full of indifference. Claire tries to help her sister, but the closer Melancholy gets, the less strength she has left.
Core (2003)
Unexplained phenomena begin to occur in different parts of the world. Panic begins to grow among the civilian population and the military is forced to seek help from Professor Josh Keyes and Serge Leveque, who can help understand what is happening.
Scientists are finding out that the cause of the cataclysms lies in the earth’s core. The outer shell of the Earth’s core has stopped and this threatens life on the planet. Due to the shutdown of the core, the Earth’s electromagnetic field begins to slowly collapse.
Soon this will lead to complete failure of electronics, and within a year solar radiation will destroy all life on the planet.
But it is possible to prevent this process. To do this, it is necessary to build an ultrasonic drill, with the help of which it will be possible to penetrate into the Earth’s core in order to detonate a megaton nuclear charge there.
Miracle on the Hudson (2016)
Clint Eastwood directed a biographical drama about the accident Flight 1549 landing on the Hudson River in 2009. For 40 years, Chesley Sullenberger has been a commercial airline pilot and spends most of the year in the skies, flying a ton of domestic flights. The plot of the film tells about one of the hero’s working days, when he was on the verge of death.
On January 15, 2009, Sully, as his colleagues and acquaintances called him, took off from New York on an A320 plane. There were 155 people on board. They all nearly died when both engines suddenly failed. Sully made the courageous decision to land the plane on the waters of the Hudson.
He had no other choice – there was not enough altitude to reach the airport. As a result, the pilot managed to successfully make an emergency landing and no one was injured.
The public dubbed Sally a folk hero. But it soon became clear that representatives of the flight commission considered him almost a criminal, claiming that he had made a mistake and endangered the lives of one and a half hundred people.
2012 (2009)
The fantastic picture “2012” is an interpretation of the end of the world from Roland Emmerich, the title of which includes the date December 21, 2012, which played an important role in the famous Mayan calendar. According to their prophecy, on this day, the planets of the solar system will be on the same line, which will lead to a series of global natural disasters.
The famous geologist Adrian Helmsley, as a result of a series of studies, concludes that the Earth may soon die. The fact is that the flow of neutrinos formed as a result of a powerful flare on the Sun heats the core of our planet to a critical level.
A year later, at the G8 summit, the heads of the most influential states decide to prepare for a global catastrophe and build a series of so-called arks capable of preserving the human race. But these are just big ships, and they won’t be able to accommodate everyone.
The Impossible (2012)
The action-packed drama “The Impossible” tells the story of the real events that unfolded during the devastating tsunami in December 2004. A huge wave caused by an earthquake off the coast of Indonesia claimed the lives of more than three hundred thousand people.
According to reliable calculations by UN experts, this was the largest natural disaster that the world’s population had to endure over the past hundred years.
The film tells the story of a British family who went on holiday to exotic Thailand. Maria and Henry live in a happy marriage and have three beautiful children. The holidays are off to a great start, with tourists enjoying the warm sun and clear water of the calm ocean. But one day will change their lives forever.
A huge dirty wave, like a mystical hurricane, will turn this paradise into deserted ruins. People who love each other will lose touch with each other without hope of meeting. But even after losing everything, a person does not stop hoping.
Tornado (1996)
Director Jan de Bolt made a disaster film about one of the most common natural phenomena in the United States – a tornado. Several hundred such tornadoes occur annually in different parts of the country.
The plot revolves around meteorologist Jo, who has a personal reckoning with a tornado – the disaster claimed the life of her father when she was still a child. Her marriage to Bill Harding, also a scientist, has cracked and they are about to separate. All that remains is to sign the divorce papers.
However, they need to complete the research program. Joe and Bill have developed a device called “Dorothy” and the task is that it must be sucked into a hurricane.
Scientists need to test their device in action and for this they chose a day when a whole series of tornado outbreaks were recorded across the country. But this is not easy, since the natural elements remain unpredictable.
However, meteorological scientists do not give up and enter into battle with nature, although all circumstances are stacked against them. Meanwhile, they manage to have competitors, and besides, meteorologist spouses who are getting divorced must sort things out.
Aftershock (2011)
Feng Xiaogang’s painting describes the events of the 1976 Tianshan earthquake. It lasted only 30 seconds, but in these short moments it managed to take hundreds of thousands of lives.
On the scale of one Li Yuanna family, the film demonstrates the tragedy of thousands of affected families. During an earthquake, Leah’s husband dies, and the children are trapped under the rubble of their house. She can save only one thing – either Fang Da’s son or Fang Deng’s daughter.
If she doesn’t hurry, they will both die. They have absolutely equal rights to life, to youth, maturity and old age, but the mother has less than a minute and two children trying to survive.