Doomsday: The Sinking of Japan

Nihon Chinbotsu is a science fiction story set in the near future. In this story, geologists discover that all of Japan is being sucked under the ocean by plate tectonics. It covers the ongoing disaster from the perspective of several people directly affected by the events, from ordinary people to scientists, rescue workers, and political leaders.

This movie is a remake of a 1973 film of the same title and, in many ways, is a major rewrite. While an excellent premise based loosely upon actual plate tectonics, the elements of social shock which were central to the original film are totally absent from this try, replacing the original message-laden content with Godzilla-style entertainment.

If there's any single impression one can get from a side-by-side comparison of the two films, it's just how far special effects have come over the last 30-odd years. Nonetheless, special effects alone cannot make a great film. I gave this a five out of ten rating.