andrew-herbst
Joined Apr 2011
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andrew-herbst's rating
This documentary spans several years leading up to the apparent detection of the Higgs particle in 2013. We get a fair bit of insight from several theoreticians and experimental scientists. The complexity of CERN's large hadron collider is part of the story - debugging, repairing, testing, etc. Not a small part of the story either.
Behind it all is the quest for the elusive Higgs particle. I thought that the movie makers have done a pretty good job of explaining the theory of what the particle is, how it fits into the "Standard Model", and how the experimentalists expect to find with their incredibly large and complex equipment. It helps to watch it on DVD because you may want to back-up in few places for better comprehension. Also, several graphics are quite well done and help illustrate the complex theory. I have a much better understanding of the standard model from having paused DVD player and studied one of the graphics in particular.
So their is some technical content to be sure, but even to a layman like myself, it rarely came across as "mumbo-jumbo".
Behind it all is the quest for the elusive Higgs particle. I thought that the movie makers have done a pretty good job of explaining the theory of what the particle is, how it fits into the "Standard Model", and how the experimentalists expect to find with their incredibly large and complex equipment. It helps to watch it on DVD because you may want to back-up in few places for better comprehension. Also, several graphics are quite well done and help illustrate the complex theory. I have a much better understanding of the standard model from having paused DVD player and studied one of the graphics in particular.
So their is some technical content to be sure, but even to a layman like myself, it rarely came across as "mumbo-jumbo".
Some people hate this movie for reasons I do not understand because I think it is great science fiction. It's mad scientist sci-fi if you like that (and I do), but the scientists aren't mad, just ambitious and very talented.
The acting is superb, especially the interactions between Sarah Polly & Adrien Brody who are sometimes acting as a perfectly synchronized team and other times are completely aghast with one another.
Delphine Cheneac (and Abigail Chu as the younger version) play their unusual character perfectly. David Hewlett plays a convincing ambitious bureaucrat, and Brandon McGibbon is very convincing as the cooperative, but worried, junior colleague.
It's a movie that starts fast and maintains a high pace of plot development throughout. You won't be bored.
The acting is superb, especially the interactions between Sarah Polly & Adrien Brody who are sometimes acting as a perfectly synchronized team and other times are completely aghast with one another.
Delphine Cheneac (and Abigail Chu as the younger version) play their unusual character perfectly. David Hewlett plays a convincing ambitious bureaucrat, and Brandon McGibbon is very convincing as the cooperative, but worried, junior colleague.
It's a movie that starts fast and maintains a high pace of plot development throughout. You won't be bored.
A very interesting tale of the interconnectedness of the universe with people. I always enjoy the quirky roles that Kiefer Sutherland undertakes, and in this one he is an overprotective, panicky single parent of an eight year old savant. Great supporting roles played by Maria Bello, Lukas Haas, Saïd Taghmaoui, Bodhi Elfman, Danny Glover, Adam Campbell, ... the list goes on and on.
The story is interesting and very human at the beginning, and then builds into a unique and profound conspiracy (perpetrated by humans of course). The plot twists and surprising variety of coincidences are really well done and enjoyable. The second season is even better than the first, leaving you wanting a third season which is not to be. But then, you can't just run season after season like the X-files where the problem never gets solved, can you?
The story is interesting and very human at the beginning, and then builds into a unique and profound conspiracy (perpetrated by humans of course). The plot twists and surprising variety of coincidences are really well done and enjoyable. The second season is even better than the first, leaving you wanting a third season which is not to be. But then, you can't just run season after season like the X-files where the problem never gets solved, can you?
