Review of Jishin rettô

Brash and passionate young seismologist Yoichi Kawazu (well played by Hiroshi Katsuno) tries to warn folks about a massive earthquake that's going to hit Tokyo, Japan, but both the scientific community and the local politicians laugh him off as a histrionic phony until the big one hits. Director Kenjiro Omori and screenwriter Kaneto Shindro unfortunately allow the heavy-handed first half of this film to get bogged down in extremely mushy and pretty tedious soap opera nonsense about Yoichi's messed-up love life and dysfunctional family. Luckily, this picture starts seriously cooking once the earthquake occurs: glass shatters, buildings topple, planes crash, people fall out of high-rise windows to their deaths, fires break out all over the city, and a flood caused by a broken dam threatens to drown a handful of hapless individuals trapped in an underground subway tunnel. The pace and tension really kick in at this point, thereby resulting in a suitably exciting and suspenseful nail-biter. Moreover, the cast all give solid performances and the dubbing is acceptable. Rokuro Nishigaki's crisp cinematography, the grimly serious tone, and Toshiaki Tsushima's stirring full-bore orchestral score are all up to speed as well. The special effects are both nifty and impressive. So despite a flawed and ponderous first half, this movie overall still rates as a sound and enjoyable disaster feature.