Kimberly Wells (Jane Fonda) and hired wild fire cameraman Richard Adams (Michael Douglas) are filming in Ventana nuclear power plant when an accident occurs. They are in the public gallery at the time and secretly film the event. On showing this film to experts they find they are lucky to be alive...

"This was the first movie I ever saw Michael Douglas in, and he produced it too. How clever, dear boy. Although you could do with a shave, or was that look in then? I can't remember now..."

"A siren-beeping-lights-on-boards-flashing-triumph-of-nuclear-danger. A masterpiece of the market economy, which likes nothing better than taking short cuts to keep costs down. 10 out of 10 for drama, -100 out of 10 for public safety, guys."

"Jack Lemmon is superb as a nuclear expert even though he accidentally almost blows up much of Southern California."

"This movie is a triumph of big black plastic knobs and flashing boards! Kids today would not know what to do with a big black knob on a board if one was thrust under their noses! In my day that is all we had. The computer generation don't know they are born."

"OK, so contractors falsified a few photographs for a nuclear power plant. What's the big deal? We've all been there, just imagine the expense of having got it done properly."

"Does everyone in this movie wear brown? You know, I think they do. A triumph of 1970's fashions, but thankfully without the larva lamp."

An expert tells our heroes that they had almost witnessed 'the China Syndrome' (Definition: During the accident, the workers almost uncovered the nuclear processor core, which is normally covered with water to stop it overheating. Had they done this it would have melted downwards, theoretically to China, but if it hit water it would explode upwards and into the air, possibly contaminating an area the size of Pennsylvania (screams in the gallery due to the Three Mile Island disaster at this time).)

But the power company is trying to get another station opened and manages to thwart our heroes from telling a safety inquiry about the defective testing carried out by a contractor, Mr Royce... Jack Godell (Jack Lemmon) is a concerned employee (who has already made contact with Wells and Adams) who locks himself into the control room of the power plant to make his point on TV. Management break in, he is shot and is then portrayed as a crank.

Kimberely sets the record straight in an emotional report to camera. The screen soon after jumps to a null broadcast signal - does this mean the China Syndrome has happened? Nobody tells us nuthin.

Now, let me firstly declare that once I was a member of CND; indeed, I once had myself strapped to a fence by those lovely lesbian ladies of Greenham Common.

I feel certain that this movie added soundly to our cause, highlighting the dangers of nuclear power in the public eye. That the Three Mile Island disaster occurred only a short few days after this movie's release was a dream arrival to our cause. Bravisimo!

This movie is a wonderful conspiracy with a POV of the working man... A tale of honest people being caught up in the dishonesty of modern capitalism! It makes me want to throw off all my clothes and parade down my street with a placard!

I have been reliably informed that Richard Dreyfus was originally lined up to star in this movie but he had to drop out, thus the Jane Fonda character was written in.

Anything bright green or bright orange, especially anything brilliantly luminous in the dark.

In the all-over-the-body gas mask position. Alternatively try watching in those snazzy 1970's big Owl eye type specs.

Whilst the Jack Lemmon character does try manfully to put the pro nuclear case, he always looks terrified for his life and so doesn't really get his message across in a media friendly way.

There are lots of construction hard hats used in the movie and scenes of pipes dropping off to dramatic effect.

Elderly relatives could sit tutting throughout at the language, which includes 'Goddamit' and the classic 'chicken shit asshole', from the botty-mouthed Michael Douglas character.

Very young children will not be able to stop singing throughout, and could get out their paint sets if not supervised firmly.

Conspiracy lovers will purr throughout, but right-wing pro-nuclear anti-environment enthusiasts could get frustrated by a hysterically disaster prone plot which might not make any sense at all for all we know about nuclear power plants.

This is all done on computers now - let's hope they don't use Windows 98.

27 minutes.

A map of Southern California with a big hole burned in the middle.

If you can get past the outrageously brown 1970's fashions, and the Michael Douglas character who appears to be on some sort of performance enhancing drug for assholes, this is a sound movie. That the disaster at Three Mile Island happened 12 days after this movie was released is a bonus. Run for the hills.

Has a wonderful undercurrent of impending disaster throughout.

One of those really important leftie movies which CND and Greenpeace must have salivated over at the time. Clearly it didn't stop the nuclear power program, however.

The movie is brilliantly paced, the fashions have dated disastrously, but Jack Lemmon and Jane Fonda are both well cast. Michael Douglas could do with a shave - thankfully he never shows off his arm pits.

March 7, 2003