Retro Film Review: Tidal Wave: No Escape (1997)

Judging by the real estate prices, people who live on the coast are more fortunate than those who live in the hinterland. However, there are times when having one's residence close to the sea may not be that attractive. This is the fate of the protagonist of Tidal Wave: No Escape, a 1997 television film directed by George Miller. The plot starts with a series of tsunamis that devastate shorelines. Their intensity and unusual frequency force the US government to create a task force of scientists who must determine the cause and possible ways to combat this phenomenon. One of the task force members is John Wahl (played by Corbin Bernsen), a Nobel Prize winner who believes that all those tsunamis aren't natural phenomena. His suspicions are validated when the US government gets blackmailed. That, however, turns into a major problem for Wahl. As a nuclear arms expert, he is one of the suspects. With federal agents on his back, Wahl doesn't have any other choice than to catch the real culprit and clear his name.

George Miller, the director of this film, should not be mistaken for the Australian director of Mad Max fame. Viewers who don't pay attention to the credits are unlikely to make such a mistake – Tidal Wave: No Escape is a film that doesn't look like anything more than a routine and uninspired television thriller. Despite a couple of special effects, the low budget of this film is more than evident. Even more evident are the formulaic and utterly predictable plot twists, laced with scientific implausibilities. Corbin Bernsen is the only notable name among the cast, and this is not going to be a particularly important entry in his filmography. The greatest problem of Tidal Wave: No Escape is the pacing. The plot unfolds so slowly that some among the audience could use this film as a cure for insomnia. Disappointing even for television standards, Tidal Wave: No Escape is a disaster film in more ways than one.

RATING: 2/10 (-)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on July 1st 2004)

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