Review for 252: Sign Of Life

Introduction

My first review of 2011 turns out to be the first in a new batch of live-action action titles from MVM, more traditionally known for their anime releases. The last couple of years have seen them expanding their presence in the live action market, bringing over some interesting Far Eastern and Horror titles to the UK that may have gone overlooked otherwise. Among last year's titles was the tantalisingly named The Sinking of Japan, and their first feature for 2011 turns out to be 252: Sign of Life, another disaster movie, a genre that is practically guaranteed to grab the attention of Joe 'movie' Public.


'252' is the Japanese code for survivors following a disaster or accident. It's what rescue workers listen out for in crisis situations, so if you find yourself in Japan, buried alive following an earthquake, flood, or typhoon, you'll know just what to do to keep yourself busy as the air runs out. In 252: Sign of Life, five plucky survivors have to face the challenge of all three; earthquake, flood and typhoon, as well as grapefruit sized hailstones. But it is typical in that no one listens to experts when they deliver a stark warning in movies like this. A meteorologist reports to her boss that a recent earthquake has fractured the seabed south of Japan; releasing tons of methane hydrate gas into the air. That has a localised effect on the climate, creating a devastating low pressure and generating a typhoon. But before that typhoon makes landfall in Japan, the low pressure has generated a tidal surge that is well on its way to inundating parts of Tokyo.


That's the last thing that Yuji Shinohara, an unsuccessful car salesman needs on his deaf-mute daughter Shiori's birthday. The family are meeting up in the city to celebrate, but as he gets to the underground station, the tidal surge strikes. After the resulting chaos has ebbed, he and his daughter are two of the few survivors, trapped underground in an unused station. With him are a nervous businessman, a Korean hostess club worker, and an obnoxious trainee doctor, and it isn't long before personalities begin to clash. But they have a chance, as before Yuji was a failed salesman, he used to be a rescue worker with the Tokyo Fire Department, and he knows how to keep everyone alive long enough to be rescued. But will rescue be forthcoming? For after the tidal surge, the typhoon is imminent, and it will be so intense that rescue workers will be putting their own lives at risk just to venture out. And the team that is searching for Yuji is led by his own older brother, a man still haunted by the incident that drove Yuji to quit the service in the first place.

TheDisc

252: Sign of Life is presented on a dual layer disc, in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen format. You have no choice with the audio, just a simple DD 2.0 Japanese stereo track, with player forced subtitles that you just can't get rid of. The image is an NTSC-PAL transfer, but isn't too afflicted by the usual judder and ghosting. It is a little soft though, apparently compensated for by a smidge of edge enhancement. You only really notice the limitations of the transfer during the darker and murkier scenes, one underwater scene in particular springs to mind. The special effects are variable, with an occasionally impressive bit of CGI, but usually it just looks low budget. The stereo is adequate in conveying the impact of the action scenes, although obviously not as impressive as a surround track would have been with this material. The dialogue is clear throughout, and the subtitles are legible and well timed, except for one typo that I noticed, "Come one", instead of " Come on". The music is typical of the genre, if completely forgettable. There are no extra features on this disc.

Conclusion

It's a proper seventies style disaster movie. In my book that is a good thing though, as to compensate for the substandard special effects, they have to concentrate more on character, drama, and story. It's all about the soap opera of little lives in catastrophic circumstances, the sort of situations and stories that made films like Earthquake and The Poseidon Adventure such integral parts of my childhood. The effects and production values in 252: Sign of Life are variable at best. Some of the CGI is laughable, although CGI beeping orbiting satellites always look good for some reason. The initial flood scenes are really quite small scale, and you have to feel sorry for the actors who are being hosed down with rather weak streams of water. But then when the train platform is inundated, you have to wonder if they suddenly found a few million yen stuffed down a sofa, as that looks really impressive. But just like those movies in the seventies, you really have to suspend your disbelief to get on with this film.


But the little stories, the characters in this film make it interesting, makes you care about what happens to them, and root for them as they strive against adversity. You know as soon as you meet Yuji's cute daughter Shiori, deaf and mute, that this film will be tugging at the heartstrings from the off. It's full of melodrama and overwrought performances as the genre demands, and every moment of triumph and loss is wrung out for full effect, at times in slow motion. It does have that typical Japanese tendency to go for the wrought emotion and melodrama straight from the off, not even waiting for the disaster to strike, as various characters are already being tormented by their circumstances. You almost feel sorry for them to have the flood to deal with as well.


But deal with the situation they do, as the filmmakers and writers plumb every cliché, resort to every emotional twist and creaky bit of dialogue to wring every last drop of tension from the situation. You'll probably be ready with accusations of overacting as you watch the film, but there is no way of underplaying dialogue like this, and in the end, a disaster flick needs the dramatic characterisations to balance the on screen mayhem caused by Mother Nature. And as you watch these people come to terms with their situation, face the challenges and face the potential loss of their loved ones, you may even find yourself with a moistness in the eye, despite the clichés, and despite the pungent cheesiness of the script. And once more, faced with a natural catastrophe that has claimed the lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands, you'll still find a moment of triumph with every single life that is rescued, however few they may be.


252: Sign of Life is a disaster movie like every other disaster movie from the seventies, the sort of movie that is made as a TV miniseries these days that goes straight to Channel 4 or 5. You have seen this film before in another guise, and no doubt you will see its ilk again. But the thing is, you won't mind seeing it in this incarnation either. 252: Sign of Life is predictable, trite, and clichéd. That's what makes it good.