If you’re looking for a sequel to the futuristic Barry Bostick Mad Max rip-off Megaforce, look elsewhere. Megaforce 7.9 is another Japanese disaster flick in the vein of Virus in that it plays things very seriously with minimal results. Unlike Virus however, there are no American stars to make it bearable. Basically it’s a Japanese remake of Earthquake but without Charlton Heston.

A well meaning scientist tries to warn the Japanese government that a big time earthquake is headed for Tokyo. No one believes him of course, and he is ridiculed for his seemingly outlandish theory, but predictably the earthquake occurs and levels Tokyo. Buildings crumble, bridges collapse and levees break, causing hundreds of underpaid Japanese extras to run for their lives. Unfortunately for the audience, it takes FOREVER to get to the destruction.

Since it was made by Toho Studios, you know right off the bat that the dialogue is going to be badly dubbed and a lot of cheap model buildings will get demolished, but ultimately Megaforce 7.9 plays like a Godzilla movie, minus Godzilla. A few of the earthquake effects are well done (especially the scene in the subway train), but most of them are pretty cheap (the fire effects are laughable at best).

The big nail in the coffin for this movie is that there are way too many meandering scenes that go nowhere (scientist whines to his wife that nobody believes him, scientist’s family is nagging and unsupportive, scientist has a girlfriend on the side, etc.) that only pad the running time and get in the way of the earthquake's destruction. And to further cash in on the 70’s disaster movie craze, the filmmakers tossed in a random scene of an airplane blowing up, just because. All of this will be too maddeningly dull for any sane viewer to handle, but Toho completists will probably want to check it out.

AKA: Death Quake. AKA: Deathquake. AKA: Earthquake. AKA: Earthquake Archipelago. AKA: Magnitude 7.9. AKA: Jishin Retto.

Explozia was a crummy Romanian disaster movie that was retitled The Poseidon Explosion in America to cash in on The Poseidon Adventure. Unlike that movie, there is no morning after for this insipid flick. When a big ocean liner’s cargo of fertilizer (the first tip-off that this is gonna be a shitty movie) catches fire, it causes an explosion and pretty soon, the whole ship is ablaze. A helpful newlywed passing by in a canoe and a stowaway help try to fight the fire. There’s also an annoying subplot about a group of sailors who board the ship and try to loot it. (What is there to steal, flaming piles of shit?)

So what we got is a low grade, badly dubbed hodgepodge of The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. For a 70’s disaster movie to truly work you need a decent sized budget and a cast of name stars (or has beens at the very least), but apparently this flick could afford neither luxury. It was inspired by a real life incident, but if the real incident was as dull as this movie, everyone would have died from boredom before the fire got to them. It doesn’t help when the acting is horrendous and the fire effects aren’t convincing whatsoever either. Director Mircea Dragan also mined similar territory with The Billion Dollar Fire, which at least had the benefit of some name actors.

AKA: Explozia.

You get three movies for the price of one in this entertaining action flick from the premiere leader of 80’s action cheese, Cannon Films. First and foremost you get your basic Airport knockoff in which a planeload of B movie favorites and C List celebrities (George Kennedy, Shelley Winters, Martin Balsam, Lainie Kazan and Joey Bishop) gets hijacked by Arab terrorists lead by Robert Forster (long before Tarantino rejuvenated his career). Movie B is a secondhand Dirty Dozen flick in which the always gruff and tough Lee Marvin (in his last role) and his team of men sign up for a do or die mission to rescue the hostages behind enemy lines. Finally Movie C is the standard Chuck Norris action movie in which he kung fus the hell out of people left and right and blows up motherfuckers with his rocket launching motorcycle. With those ingredients, it’s impossible to go wrong and while ultimately the film’s overlength bogs it down, preventing it from really being a classic, it still remains one of the most revered action movies of the 80’s and the best movie Chuck’s ever made.

Viewing the film in the post 9/11 era, it plays even better than it did in the 80’s. The hijack scenes have a better sense of urgency giving the subsequent rescue of the hostages a more satisfying payoff. But I’m taking this way too seriously. We’re not talking United 93 here. The heart The Delta Force is just an entertaining action movie. Bottom Line: Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin kick terrorist ass for two hours and all is right with the world. Who could ask for anything more? Followed by a sequel and several unrelated spin-offs.

An unbalanced refinery worker sabotages L.A.’s oil supply and starts a massive, citywide fire because he's obsessed with movie star Susan (Webster) Clark, who’s having an affair with Governor Leslie Nielsen. Henry Fonda basically stands around giving out orders and looking glum as the concerned fire chief. It all ends in the evacuation of a hospital where disaster movie stalwart Shelley Winters is a nurse. There were a lot worse Made for TV disaster flicks in the 70’s, but this one is pretty decent because you get to see all your favorite B Movie Stars burn up real good. Co-scripted by Jack (Coffy) Hill.

This was Japan’s attempt at an all star big budget disaster film. (George Kennedy is even in it for Christ’s sake!) It was a big flop and it went straight to cable in the US. When a plane carrying a lethal airborne virus crashes, it spreads a deadly plague throughout the world. When the President (Glenn Ford) and his cabinet members bite the dust, surviving crazy general (Henry Silva) takes control of America and enforces a nuclear missile defense system. The virus pretty much wipes everyone on the planet, but since it can’t survive in the cold, a large research team in Antarctica survives and starts a new society. Since there are only 8 women and 855 men, George Kennedy orders his people to start copulating. “Women have become our most valuable natural resource. One to one relationships are no longer possible. Each woman, however reluctantly will have to accommodate more than one man.” Wow. This means we get to see Olivia Hussey get it on with a lucky sailor boy during a Christmas raffle. When an earthquake is predicted in Washington D.C. (HUH!?!) that will potentially set off a nuclear weapon strike, the Antarcticans draw straws to decide who will head to Washington to disarm it. Of course they fuck it up and nuclear missiles blanket the globe. Talk about your happy endings!

Director Kinji (The Green Slime) Fukasaku throws a bunch of big names into some of the bleakest predicaments you’ve ever seen and keeps right on chugging. The supporting cast (including Robert Vaughn, Chuck Connors, Bo Svenson, Edward James Olmos, Nicholas Campbell and Sonny Chiba) are good, but damn if you won’t be depressed by the time the movie’s over. Unless you’re a die hard 70’s disaster fan, the only thing that’ll keep your interest, is the screwing for survival subplot. The original Japanese version runs 40 minutes longer.

The maiden flight of the first supersonic commercial airliner is sabotaged by a disgruntled mechanic who puts detergent in the hydraulic system. There’s also a killer flu on board, so if the crash don’t kill ‘em the virus will! This Made for TV disaster flick has a great cast: Robert Reed (pilot), Burgess Meredith (plane designer), Lorne Green (ground control), Peter Graves (millionaire) and Billy Crystal, who basically plays the same (gay) character he played on Soap. Also starring Martin Milner, Bert Convy, Misty Rowe, and a bit by Regis Philbin. Highly recommended for die hard disaster movie fans.