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Actors: Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, Wilford Brimley
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The China Syndrome |
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A California nuclear power plant experiences a dangerous power spike that could have threatened the surrounding population with radiation. Local news anchor Kimberly Wells (Fonda) is drawn into the controversial news story along with her cameraman Richard Adams (Douglas). The Ventana plant foreman, Jack Godell (Lemmon), frets over what caused the danger and what solution can be done to make the plant safer, but no one will listen. Wells is pressured not to expose the information about the plant from sources inside the television station and the power plant. When Godell attempts to blow the whistle on the problem, owners of the plant get very nervous and try to cover up the problem. A man is killed and it is obvious to Godell that the plant will stop at nothing, not even murder, to silence the information from airing.
Godell has had enough and carrying a handgun with him to work, takes over the plant's control room, summoning Wells to interview him about the dangers of the facility. When a police assault team storms into the control room, the electrical power is cut preventing Adams from capturing the situation on film, and Godell is shot and mortally wounded before he can finish the interview with Wells. The plant experiences another vibration that threatens the plant with a meltdown. The system comes back on-line averting a catastrophe but Godell dies of his wounds. As the news cameras are rolling the ownership makes disparaging remarks about Godell's sanity and possible drinking. Finally, Ted Spindler (Brimley) speaks up to defend his fallen comrade, calling for a thorough investigation.
--David Fletcher, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of The China Syndrome |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1960's-1970's
Polit/Social/Race/Gender activism
Yes
Plotlet:
- tree-huggers/environmentalists
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- engineer
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- emotionally unstable
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- aggressive
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (woman) long wavey
Body type
- (woman) ample bosom & buttocks
How much in movie?
- 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an organization
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 90%-100%
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
City?
Yes
City:
- Los Angeles
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to deaths
Movie makes you feel...
- concerned
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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