Now before you judge me for my 8/10 rating you gotta understand that you can't judge this film for its wacky science and all. It's a disaster film and none of them ever abide by science or the laws of physics and all. It's story and characters are pretty good and straightforward and the acting. Dennis Quaid is a good lead, Jake Gyllenhaal is alright, Emily Rossum is good, Ian Holm is always great to see etc. The story is straightforward and I won't spoil that but it flows well and makes sense mostly but I'll get to that in a bit. The effects are very good and still hold up almost 20 years later! That alone makes it worth a watch.
The only downsides to the film that I don't like are that 1) they cut out some good deleted scenes that would help build up things more and show more chaos around the world. And beyond what they cut I wish there was more to see how the whole world was effected. 2) the first half of the film is very strong. The build up and the unfolding disaster and how things get worse and how everyone reacts and the phony science babble, I love it! But the second half is a tad underwhelming in comparison and turns into a rescue film. It's not bad but it weighs the film down and I wish it was more about the various disasters and climate change instead of all that time spent on the rescue.
Overall a fantastic disaster film and one enjoy watching on a rainy spring or summer day.
