Robert W. Aftershock is less about the disaster and more about the people. This is an unusual but very good twist to the typical TV disaster film. Although the disaster itself, an Earthquake in this case, obviously plays an enormous part in the film the 3 hour movie really delves into many, many different characters, their lives, and their stories. As good as this is to see it is also one of it's shortcomings. There are SOOO many characters and stories and some of the stories don't even really get resolved or any sort of closure to it. The film is a plethora of TV actors and one break through role by Jennifer Garner 2 years before she was CIA Agent Sydney Bristow. She was such an unknown she doesn't even get anywhere near top billing despite the fact she is a major character. I didn't even know she was in it until I saw her.It's tough to break down every role in this film because there is SOOO many. Jennifer Garner definitely plays one of the lead characters as aspiring dancer Diane Agostini. She's as cute as she usually is in her roles and comes across as a little childish at times but the role is boosted by the romance with Fred Weller who plays Russian cab driver turned knight in shining armor Nicholai Karvovsky. Together Garner and Weller are terrific and make the most of the horrific situation around them helping each other out at every turn and revealing back story between them. I think out of everyone they are the most watchable and carry the film substantially. Tom Skerritt plays fire chief Thomas Ahearn who is ready to resign because of a personal argument with the Mayor of New York. Skerritt is pretty good in everything he does. He definitely has presence and a strong ability and brings class to his roles. His character Ahearn is strong but a little too silent. I expected him to be a little more forceful and in control. Still his scenes are well done. Sharon Lawrence plays over protective mother Dori Thorell who has an emotional back story involving a car accident that nearly crippled her son. Lawrence does the best job hands down of really giving her character a story arc. She goes from being a total mess to taking control of the situation and saving her son from death. I didn't feel that Lawrence had really good screen presence but she is adequate. Charles S. Dutton plays Mayor Bruce Lincoln. His squabbles and chemistry opposite Skerritt is good. Enemies forced to work together and they definitely portray that well. I found Lincoln most of the time to be kind of a blow hard but he still manages to take control of his city in crisis. Although they set up a deep relationship between Dutton and his daughter played by Lisa Nicole Carson, it's one story that they kind of leave on the back burner. Carson's character Evie is trapped in the subway and Dutton's character rarely mentions her during the crisis and we never see them reunite. Other supporting cast members include Rachel Ticotin, JR Bourne as the bad guy who has just been cleared of murder but is completely guilty and the young Michal Suchánek as Lawrence's son. He does a terrific job in his few scenes. Everyone in the film is adequate and save for a very few performances and moments the cast is not outstanding but they all serve their purpose. There is just so many of them to keep track of and stories to follow it's a bit much at times.Director Mikael Salomon is certainly no stranger to film and no stranger to cinematography so the talent is there but perhaps the budget is a little low. That being said there is some incredible special effects for a TV film and the Earthquake itself is quite terrifying. The film is just a little bland perhaps being so long, and have so many characters. It's mostly typical TV fluff but it's not bad and it's worth seeing for something perhaps not normally seen. The nice thing about it is that there is a really uplifting message about hope...something important nowadays in an age of natural disasters, 9/11 and war. There is a message about working together, never giving up hope, and rebuilding from disaster. It's a nice movie and worth checking out. It's not outstanding but it's okay. It's less cheesy and better acted and presented than recent TV disaster flick Category 6. (see my review.) Also interesting to see is the World Trade Center and their interpretation of how it still stands even after a deadly destructive Earthquake. 6/10

megasniper This movie defines 'Corny'. Continuity doesn't seem to be a strong point in the making of this film. Little quirks here and there such as: a woman walks in and catches 2 guys stealing a TV, she yells, they drop the TV, she runs, they disappear.... later, the broken TV vanishes too. Some of the 'emotional' reactions, as well as actions, by these actors is also over the top. You watch them do something, or react to something and you just have to sit in awe: There's just no way any sane person would do that, or waste THAT much time telling a story, or plain old goofing off, in an emergency. The musical score in coordination with some of the scenes is almost comical. And, finally, if you like 'in-the-nick-of-time' scenes, you'll be in heaven.

Michael O'Keefe This disaster drama created for TV is based on a novel by a popular New York TV anchorman-turned-author Chuck Scarborough. A massive earthquake shakes 'The Big Apple' and the city is all but held hostage by the devastation. New York City Mayor Bruce Lincoln(Charles S. Dutton)and his political foe Fire Chief Thomas Ahearn(Tom Skerritt)come to grips putting their differences aside to work together digging the city out of the ruble. There seems to be more than enough sub plots stretching this Hallmark presentation to near three hours. There are some good special effects, but nothing we haven't seen before. This earthquake flick is really no great shakes. And not unlike other disaster movies there is vast and varied talent featured in the cast: Sharon Lawrence, Jennifer Garner, Fred Weller, Lisa Nicole Carson, Rachel Ticotin and Cicely Tyson.

Movie-12 AFTERSHOCK: EARTHQUAKE IN NEW YORK (1999) **1/2Starring: Tom Skerritt, Charles S. Dutton, Sharon Lawrence, Cicely Tyson, Fred Weller, Jennifer Garner, Lisa Nicole Carson, and Rachel Ticotin Director: Mikael Salomon Running time: Unknown Not Rated (equivalent to a PG-13, containing disaster violence)By Blake French:(The following may contains a few minor spoilers)If I were to say that by the end of "Aftershock: Earthquake in New York" every problem in the picture will be solved, you would have no idea of how literal I was being. The production has so many independent characters, complicated situations, and internal and external conflicts, by the halfway point of the movie, I lost track of whose who, and what's happening and where to what characters. Most of the time it is a good thing to have a variety of characters, but "Aftershock: Earthquake in New York," pushes the audience over the edge."Aftershock: Earthquake in New York" details an earthquake that erupts in the big apple and the mayhem is causes for separate groups of devastated people. Actually, this production would be more reasonably called "Aftermath: The Horrors of an Earthquake When it Erupts in a Big City" because it is more about the situations encountered after the quake than the existent tremor itself. During the earthquake, we see museums break apart, skyscrapers collapse, streets crumble, a subway train wreak, a bathroom disassemble, and even get to see Lady Liberty fall flat on her face. All the special effects are well done and convincing. The movie does make us believe there is an earthquake is occurring.The film wastes time during the first fifty minutes, sparring us the usual momentum build-up and developing the characters individually, so that we can to care about them when the disaster hits. Good attempt by the filmmakers. But their failure has already been decided. There are just to many characters and complex sub-plots to weave this unorganized, fragmented movie together. We meet Emily Lincoln (Cicely Tyson), a religious woman on her death bed while trying to teach a young, rebellious teenage boy lessons of life, Thomas Ahearn (Tom Skerritt), a family man having tiffs with the city mayor, Lincoln (Charles Dutton), who also has a family in danger. Then we are introduced to a defense attorney Evie Lincoln, (Lisa Nicole Carson), and her client charged with cold blooded murder. They get into a subway wreak (in a tunnel where the lights are still strongly working after a massive earthquake and countless other complications have occurred). A foreign cab driver named Nicholai Karvovsky (Fred Weller) is also involved with a young woman, I forget who and why. Also covered in "Aftershock: Earthquake in New York" are marital problems, legal issues, family crisis, financial necessities, political outbursts, and even medical disasters, all which are related to each other, but distract us from the main events the story centers on.There are a few unconventional surprises contained in the story line, but for the most part, this is one long journey in circles. After the earthquake hits, we expect the movie to build up tension for an aftershock, thus the title "Aftershock." But we just don't get that at all here, but receive a rehearse in an event that took place just an hour earlier. It is like rewinding a video and watching the same scene twice. The actual disaster itself couldn't help but recycling elements from past motion pictures such as "Volcano," "Asteroid," and "Daylight."The picture is directed by Mikael Salomon, whose previous work includes the also mediocre "Hard Rain" (1998) and " A Far Off Place" (1993). Analyzing his past movies, I think Salomon has a tendency to cover a lot of material on screen, but the material doesn't have much of an impact on an audience. In "Aftershock: Earthquake in New York" just about everything happens except someone answering the question of why there would be a major tremor in the big apple in the first place.