Another end of the world thriller that feels like an indie drama. This one hails from Canada and is bad even by the standards of this genre. Michael Pare leads a cast of people trying to escape when the Earth's crust begins to be destroyed so expect the usual gamut of high melodrama, poor FX and extreme cheese. It's also very boring.

Right, well from the very moment I picked up this movie, I knew this was most likely going to be one of those abysmal end-of-the-world movies that most movies in the disaster genre turns out to be. Yet, I still decided to watch it, on the off-beat chance that the movie might just actually turn out to be good and entertaining.

That was not to be. This was indeed an abysmal entry to the disaster movie genre. Heck, you might even say that the movie itself was a disaster. Yup, it was that bad.

The storyline was bland, oh so horribly bland. In fact, now three days after I have seen the movie, I can't really recall what the movie was about. But it was bad. And I ended up actually falling asleep twice through the ordeal of sitting through it.

The special effects in "Global Meltdown" were anything but impressive. I have seen worse effects, at least that counts for something. But a disaster movie needs to be crammed with convincing special effects that win you over. "Global Meltdown" did not have that.

As for the acting in the movie. Well, let's just say that it was up to par with what you could expect from a movie such as this. The actors and actresses were strongly inhibited by a horrendous storyline and script.

If you enjoy disaster movies, then stay well clear of "Global Meltdown", because it can't even muster to be a "Localized Meltdown".

The first half of this "disaster sci fi" film is silly.

The second half salvages the story.

Initially, we get a disaster in the U. S. that stems from underground volcanic activity. The writer is inspired by the event in Africa in which poison gas from a lake wiped out a large number of people.

I'm not picky about the "poetic license" of sci fi, because that's why it's sci fi.

It's the "credible characters in incredible circumstances" that most people care about. Does this deliver?

Well, that's a mixed bag. The first half is very contrived. Too many extreme characters survive the luck of the first draw. That's pretty standard in Hollywood, though.

The silliest aspect is the fascination with "meat". The writer is obviously not a vegetarian. Cannibalism becomes a theme here, even though there is plenty of plant life available.

If one gets past that, it's not too off the wall. The only real unmotivated character is the "bad guy". He begins as a nut, but has a small following.

The motif is about "leadership" in this movie. He has the power to be a leader, but he turns out to be totally insane. Will his small following realize this?

So, in essence, this is much like "Bury Me an Angel", another movie about a raving lunatic who has followers who have to decide how far to go with her.

How far will the other characters tolerate the raving lunatic here?

Well, find out. This really isn't a bad movie. The first half and the "meat mania" from an entire group of people kind of drag it down, but not that much.