Solar Attack

Solar Attack
DVD cover of Solar Attack (widescreen)
Genre	Disaster film
Distributed by	Lions Gate Entertainment
Directed by	Paul Ziller
Produced by	Tom Berry Lisa Hansen Richard Schlesinger Gordon Yang
Written by	Michael Konyves
Starring	Mark Dacascos Joanne Kelly Louis Gossett Jr.
Music by	Chuck Cirino
Cinematography	Robert Saad Kit Whitmore
Editing by	Robert E. Newton
Production company	Outrage Productions 5, S.V. Scary Films 3
Country	Canada
Language	English
Release date	May 25, 2006 (2006-05-25)
Running time	91 minutes

Solar Attack (also called Solar Strike) is a 2006 television film by 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 and releasing vapor that extinguish the burning methane caused by the CMEs.

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 spaceplane, 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, 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 per cent 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 submarine captain who reluctantly lets him on his sub. Foster explains that although satellite communication has been disabled, the sub 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 sub survives the dive with minor damage. Communication between the captain and the Russian president results in the Russian president, who has been informed of the situation by the American president, telling the captain to go ahead with the plan.

Meanwhile, the Russian sub has detected an American sub. Before the Russian missiles can be launched, the lieutenant threatens the captain at gunpoint, but Foster wrestles the gun away. The Russian sub is detected by the Americans, who threaten to attack if the Russian sub does not surrender. The captain launches the missiles anyway and the American sub fires two torpedoes. The Russian sub releases countermeasures that destroy the torpedoes, although the Russian sub 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 re-marry.

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 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, Ontario, Canada.^[1] The HMCS Haida is seen in the last scene of the film.^[2]

Historical accuracy

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

See also

• Solar Crisis
• Sunshine

References

External links

• Solar Attack at the Internet Movie Database
• Solar Attack at allmovie
• Solar Attack at the TCM Movie Database