252: Signal of Life (DVD) (Japan Version) DVD Region 2

Inspired by a real-life rescue event during the Chuetsu earthquake of 2004, the film revolves around the fictionalised events of the largest typhoon in Japanese history, as Tokyo is struck by a massive tidal waves that causes mass destruction and floods the city. Caught up in the maelstrom are former rescue Hyper Rescue team member Yuji Shinohara (Ito Hideaki) and his young deaf-mute daughter, Shiori, who are trapped underground in an old subway station with a disparate bunch of other survivors including a businessman, a hot headed medical trainee and a beautiful Korean nightclub hostess. Meanwhile above ground, his brother Shizuma (Uchino Masaaki) tries desperately to organise a rescue effort, racing against time as the deadly storm builds for another bout of carnage.

252: Sign of Life really does follow the time honoured disaster movie formula to the letter, with the usual fractured families, strained relationships and melodrama all very much present and correct. The film plays out in entirely expected fashion, almost to the point where English speaking viewers could probably turn off the subtitles and still stand a good chance of understanding the overblown dialogue. This is especially true thanks to some very broad performances from most of the cast, who spend most of the running time crying, shouting, or staring wide-eyed off into the rain soaked distance as they struggle to come to terms with their emotional turmoil. To be fair, this isn't really the fault of the cast, who are only given the sketchiest of characters to work with. Thankfully, none of this particularly grates, and though the film quite shamelessly goes for a number of sentimental cheap shots, if anything its over the top hysterics only serve to make it more entertaining.

Although the plot is predictable, the film scores a few points by having its major disaster scenes at the beginning, meaning that the viewer at least doesn't have to sit through endless scenes of a plucky young researcher being ignored by his or her bosses as they try to warn of the impending chaos. Similarly, the film also benefits from splitting its focus between the underground survival struggle and the rescuers themselves, and whilst it does get bogged down by a few too many flashbacks during the middle section, it generally moves along at a decent pace. The third act, when the rescue attempt is eventually made during the brief eye of the storm, things do get surprisingly tense, allowing the film to pack in some real excitement before the inevitable slow motion hugs and howling of the final minutes.

Of course, most viewers will likely be watching mainly for the special effects, and the film certainly does pack in some very impressive footage. The CGI work is of a high quality, with the opening scenes of the city being swamped by the huge wave packing a real punch, more so than in some other recent Japanese blockbusters such as The Sinking of Japan. Though things never quite manage to live up to the awesome power of these early shots, director Mizuta Nobuo does show the good sense to inject a few more action sequences throughout, with fires, floods and cave-ins all taking their turn at threatening the cast. This gives the film the feel of a survival course in the style of The Poseidon Adventure or The Towering Inferno and it is certainly all the better for it.

Whilst there is absolutely nothing new here, 252: Sign of Life is nevertheless perfectly entertaining and well made, enough so to at least partly distract from its lack of ideas. With all the spectacle and schmaltz required by the genre, and should certainly be enjoyed by undiscriminating disaster movie fans.

by James Mudge - BeyondHollywood.com