It's nice to see somebody other than the Americans and Canadians taking on a disaster movie. Though the trouble is the film is lacking in the action they usually possess.
I will have to give the writers, Regina Luvitt and Philip J Ross, credit for making the story larger than the screen can handle. It is certainly one ambitious story. Brianna works for a company overseeing the construction of a new skyscraper in Antwerp. It is her business to run all the safety checks and confirm the building has been constructed to code, which we know it hasn't. The building's owner, Lucas Beaumont, decides that Brianna needs to be taken care off. Instead of killing her as he did her predecessor, he has his lackey discredit her with her husband. They create a series of faked photographs that give the impression of an affair. The hubby, Tom, is an idiot and believes the piccies. This course of action finds them at the lawyers months later... in the same skyscraper that Brianna should have been working. Due to cheap parts and materials, the building catches fire while the family are inside. WOW, that is a lot of backstories and it should have developed the characters and their relationships. The only trouble is the writers and the director, Eric Summer, blast through it without concern. It's a waste and as such is pointless. We could have started the whole film in the Lawyers offices. Which would have left extra time for the wonderful action to follow.
Except, there's very little action. What should have been an action tour-de-force for Claire Forlani as Brianna as she repels and climbs through a burning building to save her children and her marriage is nothing more than a sauntering shuffle through smoke and haze. There was so much in the main body of the film that Summers' could have accomplished to construct excitement. I mean, you're dealing with heights and fire and fire at great heights for Godsake!
As for the acting, this is just about as average as you can get. Nobody really gets into their characters. To be fair, when you see what type of characters they are you can't blame the actors and actresses. The worst, by a country mile, is the two children. It's not too surprising though because everybody is stereotypical as are the kids, so perhaps they were to come across as annoying, which they both do well.
This is a film to steer clear of. If you are wanting a nice and easy, leave your brain at the door, entertaining action film this is not the one. Do not be fooled by the trailer. Watch the trailer and enjoy that instead. It is the best part of the film after all.
Please swing on over and check out my Disastrous list to see where this damp drivel charted. You may find something better to watch.
