The Greatest Disaster Movies of All Time

https://art.tn/view/2203/en/the_greatest_disaster_movies_of_all_time/

What constitutes as "disaster?" In Hollywood, it usually refers to investing millions of dollars into a production that fails to turn a profit. (We’re looking at you, The Lone Ranger.) On screen, however, disaster movies tend to give audiences the chance to huddle together in dark theaters and watch two hours of wonton destruction, all in service of an edge-of-your-seat blockbuster meant to inspire, educate and terrify… even as it entertains.

The Day After Tomorrow
At a time when the world is going through multiple natural and man-made disasters, what's more frightening and chilling to watch than the apocalyptic action-adventure 'The Day After Tomorrow'? Although scientists would argue the series of events that unfold in the film are for from the truth, it wouldn't hurt to let your imagination run wild with this blockbuster starring Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal. While the film’s special effects were impressive for the mid-2000s.

This Is The End
Look, this is probably the biggest stretch on the list, but we’re counting it as a bona-fide disaster flick because it comes down to the same dilemma as Miracle Mile: how would you act if you were confronted with the end of the civilization as we know it? Despite the fact that it ends with Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel smoking pot and doing a choreographed dance routine with the Backstreet Boys in heaven, it’s a movie that takes seriously the idea that we have to hold on to our compassion and common decency even in the worst of times.

Piranha 3D
Wait, Piranha 3D? Yes, Piranha 3D. The whole point of a movie is to accomplish its most basic goal. If it wants to be scary, it needs to be scary. If it wants to be touching, it needs to be touching. And if it wants to be one of the campiest and rowdiest disaster flicks in history, it needs to be exactly that. Piranha 3D is and then some. With the help of Christopher Lloyd playing a mad scientist, Jerry O’Connell playing a porn kingpin and Ving Rhames playing the Ving Rhames character we’ve all come to love, the film wallows in a stew of B-movie filth and comes out the other side smelling like debauchery.

San Andreas
While all other movies on this list are based on a 'what if' scenario, 'San Andreas' starring Dwayne Johnson, is rooted deep in the faultline running underneath the state of California, that could reshape the entire coastline of the USA. Packed with truly sensational visual and sound effects, the film is let down by its poor plot and shallow character sketches.

The Impossible
A massive tsunami floods Thailand, separating a vacationing family!he ocean is a terrifying neighbor. There are so many locations around our planet that try their best to get as close as physically possible to the vast bodies of water dubbed as oceans. And yet, we never really stop to consider how powerful the ocean can be when it rises up, displaces its own waters, and floods the territories we like to think of as "dry land." The state of "dry" is only temporary, and J.A. Bayona’s masterful The Impossible reminds us that with horrifying details.

Contagion
Weird but true: Contagion, director Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 thriller about a deadly pandemic ravaging the globe, has enjoyed a sudden spike in popularity as of late. This past March, when much of the U.S. was shutting down due to COVID-19, it was the most popular movie one of the Top 10 rentals . You can’t argue with its timeliness, but it’s possible that people were also drawn to it because of praise from scientists for its surprisingly accurate depiction of virology and the collective race for a vaccine. The most scarily prophetic aspect of the film? A social-media charlatan, played by Jude Law, who hocks a miracle cure while insisting that guidelines from health professionals can be ignored.