Mario Puzo must have worked with his collaborator about a day to come up with the script for this film. It's that bad, EXCEPT for the humor in a few scenes, mostly those in the seedy bar where everyone gathers to hang out. George Kennedy is surprisingly amusing as a disillusioned cop. Victoria Principal runs around dressed in a fright wig looking like Katherine Cleaver. She spend most of the film watching Clint Eastwood movies and fighting off sex pervert Marjoe. Making lapsed real-life Evangelist Marjoe the only true baddie in the film must have been some kind of in-joke.
The biggest joke of all: Ava Gardner as Lorne Greene's "daughter" when she looks like his grandmother. Getting old in Hollywood when you're a woman isn't pretty.
If you're in the mood for a 1970s disaster epic, you could do a lot worse. The first hour is boring, as they tend to be in this genre. But the special effects, although primitive by today's standard, are pretty effective, on a par with those in some of the best Godzilla films. If you've never seen a disaster film, I recommend starting with The Towering Inferno, not this. Better effects, better script, better acting, with Richard Chamberlain as a nasty villian as an added bonus.
The biggest joke of all: Ava Gardner as Lorne Greene's "daughter" when she looks like his grandmother. Getting old in Hollywood when you're a woman isn't pretty.
If you're in the mood for a 1970s disaster epic, you could do a lot worse. The first hour is boring, as they tend to be in this genre. But the special effects, although primitive by today's standard, are pretty effective, on a par with those in some of the best Godzilla films. If you've never seen a disaster film, I recommend starting with The Towering Inferno, not this. Better effects, better script, better acting, with Richard Chamberlain as a nasty villian as an added bonus.