Solar Attack

*Solar Attack*
Solar Attack
	DVD cover of Solar Attack (widescreen)
Written by	Michael Konyves
Directed by	Paul Ziller
Starring	Mark Dacascos; Joanne Kelly; Louis Gossett Jr.
Theme music composer	Chuck Cirino
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Tom Berry; Lisa Hansen; Richard Schlesinger; Gordon Yang
Cinematography	Robert Saad; Kit Whitmore
Editor	Robert E. Newton
Running time	91 minutes
Production companies	Corus Entertainment; Outrage Productions 5, S.V. Scary Films 3
Original release
Release	May 25, 2006;

Solar Attack (also called Solar Strike) is a 2006 television film by CineTel Films and Lions Gate Entertainment, starring Mark Dacascos, Joanne Kelly and Louis Gossett Jr.

Solar Attack concerns large coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that cause the Earth's atmosphere to burn, potentially suffocating all life on Earth. All of this happens during a time of political tension between the United States and Russia. Disaster is eventually averted by the detonation of nuclear missiles at the poles, releasing vapor that extinguishes the burning methane caused by the CMEs.^[1]

The film bears a number of similarities to the 1961 film: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

Plot

While a solar probe operated by the fictional Solar and Near Earth Laboratory (SNEL) is obtaining data, a large CME or solar flare destroys the probe. A manned spacecraft, Galileo, is caught in the CME and destroyed; the tragedy is blamed on bad Russian equipment. CMEs knock satellites out of orbit, turning them into deadly meteors, and a CME hits New Zealand, destroying it and turning it into a huge mass of molten rock.

After a multi-millionaire, Lucas Foster (Mark Dacascos), funds a program to fight global warming, it is discovered that the Earth's atmosphere is now 5 percent methane. Multiple CMEs are bound to hit the Earth, ignite the methane, and suffocate every living thing on Earth. Foster, who is also a scientist, tries to convince his skeptical colleagues. The government officials and fellow scientist Joanna Parks (Joanne Kelly), his ex-wife, do not believe Foster either.

As the CMEs strike, it is determined that 25-megaton nuclear missiles fired at the North Pole will release vapor that will extinguish the methane flares. Fortunately, Foster knows a Russian Navy submarine captain who reluctantly lets him board his submarine. Foster explains that although satellite communication has been disabled, the submarine can communicate via a transatlantic telegraph cable located at a depth of 800m. The sub is designed to dive to 700m, but the captain tells his reluctant lieutenant to dive to 800m anyway. The submarine survives the dive with minor damage. Communication between the captain and the Russian president results in the latter, who has been informed of the situation by U.S. president Ryan Gordon (Louis Gossett Jr.), telling the captain to go ahead with the plan.

Meanwhile, the Russian submarine has detected a U.S. Navy submarine. Before the Russian missiles can be launched, a lieutenant threatens the captain at gunpoint, but Foster wrestles the gun away. The Russian submarine is detected by the Americans, who threaten to attack if the it does not surrender. The Russian captain launches the missiles anyway, and the American submarine fires two torpedoes. The Russian submarine releases countermeasures that destroy the torpedoes, but it still suffers damage. The Americans finally realize that the Russians are friendly after learning of the presence of Foster.

The missiles arrive at the North Pole and the Earth is saved. At the end, Foster and his ex-wife hug; Foster's comment about going "down the aisle" suggests that they may renew their romantic relationship and remarry.

Cast

Mark Dacascos as Dr. Lucas Foster
Joanne Kelly as Dr. Joanna Parks
Kevin Jubinville as Brad Stamp
Sugith Varughese as Patel
Craig Eldridge as Jim Leeburg
Tim Post as Joe Aguilar
Stephen McHattie as Admiral Lawrence
Conrad Coates as Colonel Alby
Louis Gossett Jr. as President of the U.S. Ryan Gordon
Damir Andrei as Russian President Yuri Ilyushin
Bill Lake as Captain Misha Gregorovitch
Genādijs Dolganovs as Lt. Troiska
Romas Stanulis as Russian Crew Member
Ronn Sarosiak as Captain Wade
Duane Murray as Lt. Copeland
Jason Knight as Delta Pilot
Bill Hall as Reporter
Gordon Masten as Hot Dog Man
Neil Crone as Security Guard

Production

Solar Attack under its original working title, Solar Strike, was shot in Hamilton and Toronto, Canada.^[2] The HMCS Haida is seen in the last scene of the film, standing in for a U.S. Navy destroyer.^[3]

Scientific accuracy

Solar Attack claims that the ozone layer blocks CMEs, but it is actually the magnetosphere that blocks these charged solar particles.

References

Notes

^ "'Solar Strike (Solar Attack) (2005)'." Rotten tomatoes. Retrieved: April 23, 2015.
^ "List of Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved: January 29, 2008.
^ "HMCS Haida." Parks Canada. Retrieved: February 3, 2013.

External links

Solar Attack at IMDb
Solar Attack at AllMovie
Solar Attack at the TCM Movie Database

[1] "'Solar Strike (Solar Attack) (2005)'." Rotten tomatoes. Retrieved: April 23, 2015.

[hamfilm-2] "List of Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved: January 29, 2008.

[3] "HMCS Haida." Parks Canada. Retrieved: February 3, 2013.

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