Category 7: The End of the World (2005)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

As with the prequel: Category 6, Day of destruction, The actors in this each did an exceptional job. Great work by Shannon Doherty and her partner in tornado chasing, the iconic Randy Quaid. Very believable responses to the environmental crises. I love the layers of story line, which are quite complex, but rather than omitting them, they add to the depth of the film overall. Great science stats, and coverage of both social, political and economic issues arising from Global Warming. Particularly appreciated the addition of the religious coverage in this, as definitely there can be a fine line between environmental damage by man and what some believe is 'God's punishment'. Really great production on all fronts.

Film catastrophe(in both senses). The whole planet is devastated by mega-storms, hurricanes, tornadoes. All the characters, for 2 hours 49min, they fret and fuss, waiting for the end of the world. There are not missing some frogs and flies as biblical signs. To make matters worse, at the half of the movie, some villains kidnap a few young people, including the son of the main character, who tries to save the world, FEMA Director Judith Carr (Gina Gershon). The most sympathetic character is Tornado Tommy Dixon, played by the natural Randy Quaid. Other actors, including Robert Wagner, John Kapel, James Brolin, Swoosie Kurtz, Tom Skerritt and even Gina Gershon, all alike it seems they have a thick carrot stuck in their ass(I think they were aware of how bad is the script). So, it's really the end of the world? No, they changed their mind, just wanted to scare you again, like in all those catastrophic productions, they have a happy ending, as usual...

This is absolute garbage, unless it's some kind of subtle parody of the entire disaster film genre. If the latter were true, I'd submit that it's a little TOO subtle. Pretty much every scene, especially during the second half, fails on multiple levels.I didn't realize that this was a sequel, though that explains my extreme confusion at the start of the piece when a rapid succession of events and locations made me wonder if I'd grabbed a copy of the "Reader's Digest" version of the film or had somehow started the second half of it and was watching a recap. It was so confusing that I went back to the DVD menu to see which half of the thing I started watching.There're some good actors in this, as well as actors capable of more than they're often handed (Randy Quaid, for example), but there're also some whose acting skills I doubt; I've never really admired Shannen Doherty's thespian skills and some of the interchangeable-but-mostly-good-looking younger cast members likely belong to the "I'm pretty, so I'll be an actor" school of performance art. Even the best actors aboard this piece, including seasoned veterans like Tom Skerrit, Robert Wagner, and James Brolin, couldn't save the day. After a while, toward the end (finally!) of proceedings, I began to drift away with eyes wide open, realizing that I'd missed exactly who was dispatched by tornadoes and realizing simultaneously that I didn't care any more.I'm a scientist but I'm not a climate scientist. My knowledge of severe weather events falls pretty much into the general knowledge category, with some extra edge provided by working around climate researchers, reading tidbits relevant to my research interests in coral reefs and fishes, and having endured a few hurricanes because of exposure attendant to the nature of my research field. But even my minimal knowledge related to these kinds of weather events was offended by blatant errors in the script.First, obviously, there's no such thing as a Category 7 (or even Category 6) hurricane. Sure, the way things are going we may well have to extend the scale that far, so perhaps we can give them this one. There is still no excuse for rattling on about a Category 6 tornado, though -- they don't come in categories. And, particularly offensive to me even when I'm NOT wearing my scientist hat, the alleged scientists on screen here should be completely ashamed for referring to 'data' as a singular, as in "that data" (the correct, and ONLY correct, form would be "those data"). It's a small point, perhaps, but it's indicative of the sloppiness that's apparent here. Such sloppiness totally contrasts this piece with a film like "Dante's Peak," that quite well captured the feel of a field research team and for the most part did its homework (thanks to technical advisers and to the director's long-term interest in geology). These actors better never let me catch them again saying such things as "that data." Any real scientist who ever deploys such an atrocity should similarly be punished severely, perhaps by forcing them to watch this dreck.On the bright side, I did get to look at Gina Gershon for a while. In fact, looking at Gina Gershon -- generally a good idea -- will for me likely remain the most (only) memorable part of this entire production.I'm willing to lay off the production values, especially the special effects, given the budget and timeframe constraints they obviously faced. For the most part, the special effects are well done and where they fail it's usually more as a result of the bad science or other inaccuracies involved, not the actual effects themselves. The annoying, gimmicky cinematography, undoubtedly intended to portray hyperkinetic action throughout (this film rarely pauses, obviously its creators never heard how the most important parts of music, among other things, are often found in or bolstered by the pauses), at least helps cover for the general lack of perceptible peril in half of the perilous scenes.Also, there's lots of bright sunny weather for being in the middle of a gynormous weather event. And surprisingly little rain, as is sometimes the case, and what rain there is somehow manages to fall vertically during a hypothesized Category 7 hurricane. The most severe hurricane that I've endured (so far) had sustained winds of 120 mph and gusts up to 164 mph. There was talk of it still being a Category 4 when it struck (≥131 mph sustained), because the Weather Service's recording instruments were destroyed partway through, but it definitely was a good, solid Category 3. It's hard to keep a field scientist out of the field and, knowing that I was risking a Darwin Award, I was outside for a good chunk of the storm and (dodging all sorts of things that were flying about me and painfully aware of my fragility) videotaping the show. The force of that storm was such that I was able to do a handy Marcel Marceau leaning-into-the-wind impersonation with ease and peeking around the corners of buildings into the full force of the wind would not only snap my head back but really do a number on my eyes. Now, in this film we're supposedly talking about sustained wind speeds twice that and the actors are running around as if it was just a 50-mph breeze? And the rain's falling straight down, rather than coming in sideways like a billion bullets? Well, sure, I guess, in a universe in which a telephone pole affords protection form an incoming trailer home. Really, even if the science was right, this'd still be execrable simply because the writing's so dire.It's also how amazing how unbelievably (literally -- as in being absolutely unbelievable) quickly this unprecedented storm dissolved in the wake of DC turning off its power. I'd say it was an anticlimax but, really, by this point it was just a mercy killing.

Well, this movie started exactly where category six left off as we all know. I do think that category 6 had a more enjoyable story, but thats not what people watch these movies for, unless they really don't know a thing when it comes to these kind of movies. These movies are meant for pure, twisted entertainment, and i think Category 7 gives it all to u. I think about every person has fealt like they had to watch a "disaster" movie for a weird reason. People are just drawn to them.The fact is...don't look into his for an award winning drama. Cause your not gonna get one. This is A special FX extravaganza. or watever. I have to say with the 15 million dollar, they exceeded ALL my expectations. Better FX than much of the movies I've seen on the big screen. So, be a little better judge for this movie. 1 star is not the type to give to a disaster movie, and then go around and talk about how lame the script was, cause you should know what ur up for. I personally thought it was good, thats just me. The people behind the scenes, the ones that worked for days on end, deserve all the praise. The Emmy nominated sound crew, and the well deserved people behind the special FX did unbelievably good. I say give this movie a chance if your up for seeing the eiffel tower fall and much much more.