Aftershock: Earthquake in New York (1999)

This movie defines 'Corny'. Continuity doesn't seem to be a strong point in the making of this film. Little quirks here and there such as: a woman walks in and catches 2 guys stealing a TV, she yells, they drop the TV, she runs, they disappear.... later, the broken TV vanishes too. Some of the 'emotional' reactions, as well as actions, by these actors is also over the top. You watch them do something, or react to something and you just have to sit in awe: There's just no way any sane person would do that, or waste THAT much time telling a story, or plain old goofing off, in an emergency. The musical score in coordination with some of the scenes is almost comical. And, finally, if you like 'in-the-nick-of-time' scenes, you'll be in heaven.

I bought this on DVD because it was cheap and I couldn't find anything else, but I pretty much thought it would be wasted money. But this movie is surprisingly well written, effective and does its best to avoid disaster movie clichés, albeit not always successful. Like its predecessor "EarthQuake" it focuses on the effect of a disastrous earthquake on the lives of several groups of people whom struggle to survive and find loved ones amongst the devastation. The stories range in degrees of interests, ranging from engrossing to rather weak and familiar. The one that stands out the most is about a pampered rich girl and a young Russian taxi driver whom takes it upon himself to protect her. The contrast is interesting as she finds herself in a totally alien world of sudden death and chaos while her companion seems wearily used to such calamities, and instead of panicking he immediately tries to regain control of their situation. As far as the special effects go it doesn't have all the flashy effects other quake movies do but what it does show is pretty convincing, they seemed to realize their own production limitations and wisely try worked around them without pushing it too far. 7 out of 10, escapes the "made for TV" curse and is overall worth viewing.

It has taken 25 years, but through the magic of computers and clever filmmaking, the effects in "Aftershock: Earthquake in New York" have far and away surpassed the effects in the 1974 disaster epic "Earthquake."Utilizing actual footage of New York City, the effects team on "Aftershock..." achieved big budget effects for the small screen... and the effects truly are amazing! The story and the acting are pretty much TV miniseries stuff, but if for nothing else, see this miniseries for the chilling special effects alone!

Aftershock was great! Most of the effects were awesome and really believable. The characters were great, ones that you could relate to. The actors and filmmakers did a great job. I would recommend this movie to anyone. If you missed it, try to get the video. The movie had a good message behind the drama. Two thumbs up and five stars.