Baldwin Goes Where No Man has Gone Before
When a massive asteroid hits the Moon it has a knock on effect for the Earth as not only do clouds of fragments start breaking through the atmosphere but it causes the Moon to crack. With data showing that a huge chunk of the Moon could split off and plummet to Earth, causing a new Ice Age, the ASI recruit demolitions expert John Redding (Stephen Baldwin - Jesse Stone: Night Passage) to use his knowledge of precision explosions to see if they can prevent the Moon from splitting in two.
To put it simply "Earthstorm" is an "Armageddon" rip-off, we may have the slight difference that following an asteroid hitting the moon it is cracking up and endangering the Earth what follows is very similar. Where we had Bruce Willis as a drilling expert in "Armageddon" we have Stephen Baldwin as a demolitions expert who is recruited to help save the world by going to the moon and using his knowledge of explosions to try and stop it from splitting in two. Yes "Earthstorm" really is that daft and whilst we get subplots from demolition man John Redding having been a workaholic since his wife died to a scientist, Dr. Lana Gale, having issues with Government advisor Victor Stevens. Which means it is simple stuff.
Now being simple isn't a criticism, some of the best movies ever made were simple and being a TV movie isn't a criticism either because there are good TV movies. Unfortunately TV movies rarely make for good disaster movies because they don't have the budget to deliver the special effect driven action and that is certainly one of the issues with "Earthstorm". There are some nice effects which whilst fake, such as meteors crashing down to earth, still look quite good. But then unfortunately you also get effects which look like they have come out of a computer game especially when it comes to the space shuttle encountering a meteor storm, dodging and ducking its way through it.
Talking of the meteor storm well this is one of the worst bits of action I have ever seen as an astronaut flies the space shuttle through the meteors with a single joystick, not only that she dodges the meteors and rotates the shuttle 360 degrees as if it was a fighter plane. It's laughable but then so much of "Earthstorm" is laughable from are introduction to Redding as he risks his life in a building he is blowing up to the tension between two other characters. And in some ways that is the movie's saving grace because it becomes so corny with some really cheesy, macho BS dialogue that you end up laughing and enjoying it for everything which is bad about it. And there is a lot in "Earthstorm" which is bad which will make you laugh right up until the credits roll.
What this all boils down to is that "Earthstorm" is a bad movie especially when you take it seriously as a disaster movie which is basically "Armageddon" with a few changes. But when you stop trying to take it seriously and allow yourself to laugh at how bad it is you will be entertained.
