Which disaster movie do you like best?

[MSM 126]

Which of the above disaster movies do you like best?

[Ollie 1,059]

ID4 with Twister in 2nd place.

[Datameister 2,042]

All I've seen is Independence Day and I think part of Twister. I think I preferred the former.

[ChuckM 1]

Easily ID4. Great movie!

[John Crichton 4]

ID4, closely followed by Deep Impact, which I've always found underrated.

[Neimoidian 14]

ID4 - very enjoyable romp with great music and smashing vfx. There is some cheese in it, but not as much as some insist. The story isn't dead serious like in other Emmerich's flicks. Overall it's very solid and authentically entertaining picture. I prefer this sort of WotW variation over Spielberg's, which, by the way, should be in the poll too.

[John Crichton 4]

ID4 is also by far the best score of the bunch. By very far.

[Wojo 2,453]

Clearly.

[MSM 126]

ID4 - very enjoyable romp with great music and smashing vfx. There is some cheese in it, but not as much as some insist. The story isn't dead serious like in other Emmerich's flicks. Overall it's very solid and authentically entertaining picture. I prefer this sort of WotW variation over Spielberg's, which, by the way, should be in the poll too.

I am sorry...it has been added

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I have to give it to Twister, which easily has the best score of them all, by far.

Dante's Peak would take 2nd.

They're all quite awful.

[Hitch 57]

2 recent disaster pics which I thoroughly enjoyed were

BASIC INSTINCT 2 and DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR?

..........Not!

Oh no, I voted for Michael Bay. Drax, did you vote for GODZILLA again???? You have no taste.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I voted for Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie.

[Hitch 57]

[Wojo 2,453]

Oh yes, I voted for Armageddon also. I just didn't want to be the first to admit it.

[Trent B 337]

I can't just vote on one.

I really liked ID4, The Day After Tomorrow, Volcano and Twister. A guilty pleasure for me is Armageddon.

[Ollie 1,059]

I know Drax wouldn't vote for Godzilla.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

"The Towering Inferno". Nothing comes close to it.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

Clearly the original GOJIRA.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I know Drax wouldn't vote for Godzilla.

If only for Maria Pitillo.

[Red 75]

Either Independence Day or Spielberg's War of the Worlds.

[Henry B 50]

These all suck.

[Romão 2,274]

War of the Worlds. The only mildly interesting movie of the bunch and clearly the best score

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

I know Drax wouldn't vote for Godzilla.

If only for Maria Pitillo.

She is cute, I give you that.

[Quintus 5,399]

Funnily enough, the placing of the movies in the list mirrors my feelings, at least as far as first and last are concerned. ID4 is a brainless action classic with bucketloads of charm and a great score, unlike Spielberg's War of the Worlds, which is a load of shite. Score is decent enough though, I suppose.

[Wojo 2,453]

Where's The Phantom Menace on the list? It made a disaster out of the whole Star Wars franchise.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

ID4 is one of those movies I've never been able to understand. I've watched it dozens of times trying to like it, but it never feels anything less than terrible.

[Wojo 2,453]

A nerd defeats an alien mothership with a computer virus created in a matter of hours on a Macintosh computer. The movie is beyond the need to be understood.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

A nerd defeats an alien mothership with a computer virus created in a matter of hours on a Macintosh computer. The movie is beyond the need to be understood.

Ok, I'll rephrase. I don't understand how anyone likes it at all as anything but an MST3K style bad movie.

[Quintus 5,399]

In some ways it is terrible, but in a good way.

Sometimes terrible can be good. But there is a very fine line between good terrible and shit. Emmerich seems to be a specialist in making both.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

In some ways it is terrible, but in a good way.

Sometimes terrible can be good. But there is a very fine line between good terrible and shit.

This is very true.

[John Crichton 4]

These all suck.

Come come, Mr. Buck, young minds, fresh ideas. Be tolerant.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

utterly bizarre, some of those are not disaster movies, ID4, Godzilla, and War of the Worlds do not belong in this poll.

who created this?

[Uni 306]

I have to agree. Several of these don't qualify as disaster movies at all. While a devastating alien invasion could certainly be called disastrous, it's not quite the same thing. Pity, too. I'd rank ID4 up there toward the top. But for a good natural disaster flick, I'd actually choose Deep Impact. It was a decent look at how humanity would react to that sort of situation (unlike Armageddon, which was pure Michael Bay shlock). Twister wasn't too bad, though it could've been done a little better.

- Uni

[AI 0]

Independence Day has a lot going for it, other than the effects, the films is carried by the humor and likeabilty of the characters, with a fitting, slightly corny score.

The Day After Tomorrow is quite tedious and unfocused, apart from the great effects center-piece.

2012 has relentlessly great SFX, but apart from Woody Harrelson, dull unsympathetic characters.

Poseidon is pretty bad overall.

Deep Impact aims at being profound but falls short of the mark, and takes too long to get to the visual effects, which end up being impressive, but too little too late.

Armageddon is an entertaining movie, even if it is sort of like being bludgeoned over the head with a hammer for two hours. It lacks any and all subtlety or memorability.

Volcano is mediocre, rather ineptly made, but with a good score.

Dante's Peak has a good story and character development, but the effects are a bit on the slack side.

Twister is quite good overall, very convincing effects and integration, interesting plot and an engaging score.

The Core is solid, explains itself in some depth and takes itself seriously, good character development, a satisfactory amount of very impressive visual effects, but - derivative and uninteresting score.

Godzilla is basically a train-wreck.

War of the Worlds has top-notch visual effects, could have been better on the editing and pacing, but it has by far the best music of all of them.

Overall as far as films go, I'd have to vote for The Core, with ID4 second, then Twister.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

utterly bizarre, some of those are not disaster movies, ID4, Godzilla, and War of the Worlds do not belong in this poll.

who created this?

Really, is it that hard to look at the original post and see who created it?

I like ID4 the best (and it IS a disaster film; the destruction sequences clearly make it so).

[Trent B 337]

Ya to say ID4 isn't a disaster film ...something is wrong with you. I mean hell aliens come to our planet, start destroying major cities across the WORLD, killing millions of people...come on now.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

ID4 and War of the Worlds are alien invasion films to me. When I think disaster film, I think of a film where everyday life gets disrupted by a disastrous accident, or a natural disaster, or as in Deep Impact, Armageddon, 2012 and The Core, where Earth's existence is threatened by extraordinary natural events. Godzilla is a monster film.

[Ollie 1,059]

utterly bizarre, some of those are not disaster movies, ID4, Godzilla, and War of the Worlds do not belong in this poll.

I can agree somewhat. I wouldn't include Godzilla as a disaster film but I can see WOTW & ID4 being included because it does include massive worldwide destruction.

But yeah, to me a real disaster film is brought on by natural elements.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

utterly bizarre, some of those are not disaster movies, ID4, Godzilla, and War of the Worlds do not belong in this poll.

I wouldn't include Godzilla as a disaster film but I can see WOTW & ID4 being included because it does include massive worldwide destruction.

Would Star Wars and Star Trek 2009 be eligible too because they feature planetary destruction?

[Ollie 1,059]

No.

[Wojo 2,453]

This is a "disaster movie" poll, not a "natural disaster movie" poll.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

A lot of movies have disasters in them. When people say disaster movie, I think of natural disaster.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

The Towering Inferno is one of the most iconic disaster movies ever. It's not about a natural disaster.

[Hitch 57]

The best score from the list happens to be James Horner's DEEP IMPACT

[John Crichton 4]

Generic Horner score type 3C, I believe.

[Ollie 1,059]

The best score from the list happens to be James Horner's DEEP IMPACT

Especially if you suffer from insomnia.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

What about Titanic?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The Towering Inferno is one of the most iconic disaster movies ever. It's not about a natural disaster.

True.

[Uni 306]

The Towering Inferno is one of the most iconic disaster movies ever. It's not about a natural disaster.

True. I think most folks would define a disaster film as one that puts a group of characters (or even the Earth at large) in danger because of the overwhelming onslaught of non-sentient elements beyond their control. The destruction in ID4 is disastrous, to be sure, but it's caused by an intelligent, malevolent will. It's an invasion movie. Technically, once you qualify a film like that (or War of the Worlds), you'd necessarily have to include movies like Saving Private Ryan, The Patriot, Red Dawn . . . even movies like Die Hard, for that matter. Anything with people placed in harm's way, with at least one or more deaths resulting and some measure of destruction to man-made structures, would have the right to claim a spot. The genre loses its unique quality, and becomes just a variation folded into countless other categories.

Of course, my definition could be interpreted to include monster movies like Godzilla (or Cloverfield, which was a much better entry in that arena). You could make the case that the monsters aren't an evil intelligence bent on destruction . . . but I would say they're not exactly completely mindless forces, either. They deserve a genre of their own.

My take also would remove Twister from the list as well since, although it does involve destructive natural elements, the characters aren't helpless at the mercy of them; they actually go chasing after them in an attempt to assert their own intent and control.

I'm not necessarily trying to draw the absolute line here; just contributing to an interesting discussion.

What about Titanic?

Excellent point. If you include The Towering Inferno, then you'd almost have to put Titanic in there as well. Both feature natural forces (one fire, the other an iceberg) destroying property and lives--but only as a result of human error. The consequences weren't intended, but individual mistakes of short-sighted men led to the inevitable conclusions. If people allow nature to take over, does that count?

- Scott

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

A lot of movies have disasters in them. When people say disaster movie, I think of natural disaster.

We can add terrorist movies to the list then, since the PC term now is "man-made disaster".