When "The China Syndrome" debuted, many nuclear experts thought the film was bad fiction and said as much. However, only 12 days later, the Three Mile Island disaster occurred and made what happened in the movie look incredibly prescient.
Kimberly Wells (Jane Fonda) is a 'fluff' reporter for the local news. In other words, her stories are human interest pieces and aren't exactly biting news. However, when she's receiving a tour of a new nuclear power plant, she and her film crew witness some sort of averted disaster. Oddly, however, despite the film they got, their station refuses to air it or a report on the near disaster.
Shortly after this, one of the supervisors at the power plant (Jack Lemmon) is scared when he realizes the company which made the plant cheated. Instead of X-raying all the components as mandated by law, they faked them. This, combined with a leak, convince him that the plant is a potential time bomb...and returning it to full power might precipitate a melt down of the nuclear core...which would be VERY bad. At this point, someone, probably big-wigs with the company, begin to play hardball...as it appears they'll stop at NOTHING to get the plant back up on line even if it's not 100% safe. What's next? See the film.
I wasn't surprised at all at the film's anti-nuclear power message. What surprised me is that this film is actually an exciting suspense story...much like "Coma" or "The Parallax View" with an evil organization and the 'little guy' trying to expose this.
So is it any good? Well, with actors like Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas, of course the acting is top-notch. The story, while a bit over-the-top, is still, despite this, believable enough that you find yourself glued to the screen. It is a super-paranoid story...and that is the film's strength. Well made...tense and very exciting....and incredibly well-timed. And, whatever you think of nuclear power, it's a film well worth your time.
