Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Ollie Evans The script isn't that terrible, although I suspect the premise of the film carries it somewhat. It was a shame that it has been so poorly produced.Every piece of the story is labored and is a perfect example of how modern films are scared to leave anything to the imagination. An example is the scene in what presumably is the White Situation Room or PEOC. The President has just shouted orders at people while repeatedly reminding the viewer that he is the President. He gets a message saying the Nasa Administrator is on the phone, and answers the phone as "President {such and such}". I get it, he is the President. Tedious.

Keith Pangilinan I actually took the time to watch yet another disaster flick on the Spanish language channel UniMás. While I did do some live-tweeting which contains a few "MST3K"-inspired quips, the re-viewing experience was torturous, especially when I learned this was a three-hour show. This TV movie followed the blueprint for your typical average disaster flick. But while the plot was nothing new & detestable, the characters were even worse, particularly w/ that one guy, um, Secretary of Defense or something, acting as evil as a villain in a Jean-Claude Van Damme film (also aired often on UniMás), & that's quite too evil when it comes to a "disasterpiece." Maxim Roy as Dr. Jane spends the first half looking like she's got indigestion from eating at Wienerschnitzel. & after she's escaped the devious Beltway, she becomes an acceptable love interest for Matthew Modine. I'm sure that the climax of the film, which was when Modine & Co. fought off certain apocalypse, actually took place in the middle, because afterwards, "CAT.8" transforms into a conspiracy thriller, w/ some occasional CGI disasters, such as the never-realistic & cartoonish instant canyon. & I knew the science of this movie was noticeably screwy when the government could shoot a laser at the sun, reach it in a manner of picoseconds, & solar flares could actually pose a genocidal threat. If I must say something positive, at least the SFX looked, um somewhat professional. But in conclusion, "CAT.8" is just a big, prolonged hot mess in many ways.

Gin-ster My review is very unfair because I have only seen the first half. It is extremely formulaic - the only smart guy is in disgrace, and has a beautiful, plucky daughter (don't they always?); the ESTABLISHMENT is full of weasels who are interfering with solving the problem, and the science is beyond ludicrous. But hey, it's good dumb fun. I wouldn't wait in line to see it, nor make space in my busy schedule, nor pay extra, but as a filler after you need to "come down" from an episode of Breaking Bad, if you like B-grade sci fi and/or disaster movie stuff, it works just fine. Strangely, the acting isn't all that bad. On the one hand, there are rug-chewing villains (the slime literally rolls off the "Secretary" whose self-serving unwillingness to listen to scientific advice causes the catastrophe; the hero's ex-wife's new husband is an unrelenting sleaze, etc.) But scientist/hero Modine is quite good in his role, and the scientist who unleashed the disaster (under pressure from the "Secretary") is actually pretty good too, coming across as sort of a normal person (well, normal for someone who has just destroyed the planet). Anyway, in the "good dumb fun" category I give this high marks. Others have compared it to "Eve of Destruction" and like "Eve" I have only seen one half, but will gladly view the second halves when the opportunity arises.

bigal_a I watched this film yesterday with queasy disbelief. The simple fact is that nothing - but nothing - can fly between the earth and the sun in less than 8 minutes.That isn't susceptible to "as far as we know", either. It is the basis of one of the most tested, verified and successful scientific theories of all time.Even if a massive CME had been caused immediately by the incoming glittery beam of science-stuff, it could not have reached the earth in less than 16 minutes. And the sun is so big that like a big container ship, it doesn't exactly turn on a sixpence. By the time anything happened, the affected part of the sun would have turned away from the earth, and the CME would have missed.I would have had a lot more respect if there had been an "omigod" moment and a prediction that something nasty was coming in, say, 24 hours, and the film wouldn't have had to run for 24 hours to show it either.This is only one little point in a film I begrudge having spent the time to watch it. IMO it is a turd sandwich with really thin slices of bread either side.Saying, "hey, it's just SCIENCE FICTION, Negative Nancy" does not relieve the film of the responsibility to have at least one foot planted firmly in plausibility. They could have done this properly at no greater cost, with no impact on the story, and I would have given them kudos for having done so.No plausibility, no kudos. This film's nonsensical trashing of the scientific method does not render it any the more entertaining. It's just sloppy, rushed-looking and tedious.I shan't be watching it again.