Review: FRONTLINE - INSIDE JAPAN'S NUCLEAR MELTDOWN (2012)

One last documentary ... the penultimate entry on THE BIG LIST my son and I compiled last year.

Today's is PBS' Frontline: Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown (2012).

My son will go first:

Well, this one is the last movie. This movie inspired the New Godzilla movie because the radiation suits, the nuclear power plant destruction and the damage looks like the Trailers.  I knew about the earthquake and tsunami, but I didn't know about the nuclear power plant or the radiation.  It was interesting and I liked it. 

So, rating wise, i'll say 3.6 out of 5 Atomic Breaths of Awesomeness!! 

My turn:

As James said, in the opening several minutes, we are hit with a lot of imagery.  Imagery that Godzilla's filmmakers obviously cribbed from for the new film (and I'm going by what we've seen in the trailers). 

Obviously, Fukushima's relation to the new movie has inspired art, too: 

 

As for the story itself, I was familiar with the vast majority of it but I was very surprised to hear just how much Tepco (the company that operates the plant) covered up and withheld from Japan's PM even as the danger was unfolding.  Staggering stuff. 

It's well done and there is some human interest included, primarily with one man searching for his wife and child despite radiation warnings around the plant.  The bravery on display is amazing, as we often see in stories like this.  I don't know if it's Frontline's laid-back style, but the magnitude of the bravery didn't seem to come through for me.  (I comprehend it, but I didn't feel it in my gut.) 

Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown ... very influential, I'm sure, as we'll see.  3.5 out of five atomic breath blasts.

Here's a link to the entire documentary.

Up next, yes.  The time has arrived.  Godzilla (2014).