Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

timsmith37 I can understand why a lot of viewers tuned out after the ponderous first episode, but it is a shame, as the second instalment ratcheted the tension up nicely. The drag on the story was not the the weight of polemic, so much as the human interest elements; these had some relevance in setting up character motivation and building plot, but it was impossible to care about Rupert Penry-Jones bland corporate man or Neve Campbell's simpering environmental do-gooder. Also the ending depended a lot on our accepting the relationship between Penry-Jones and Bradley Whitford, but the background to this was never explained.The environmental scenarios in the storyline were certainly credible, the political aspects perhaps less so. The rival lobbyists played by Bradley Whitford and Marc Warren did not seem rooted in any recognisable political power structure, and it is to the credit of both actors that the characters came to life as more than two dimensional cyphers. The depiction of big oil was perhaps simplistic. Not all in the industry are opposed to Kyoto; outside of the US at least, it is seen as a commercial opportunity. The likes of BP and Shell do not particularly care what energy agenda Governments adopt so long as they send out clear signals and stand-by them, enabling investments to be planned with minimal risk. US intransigence on Kyoto is driven more by a lack of political will to tackle the average voter's seeming belief that it is their God-ordained right to consume a vastly disproportionate share of the planet's resources.

pmillsom The plot reverberation with thunderous force of oil politic. The script was gift to the cast who seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to convey the serious message and the message was all too prophetic. Frighteningly prophetic consider the script was written some years earlier. If you read "Carbon Wars" by Jeremy Leggett you will learn that the politics of climate summits is all too real and you'll appreciate that anything published ever by the IPCC is diluted dribble and at least 10 years behind the real consensus of honest scientists and heartfelt politicians.One key message it drives home at the finale moment (that maybe I should have realised before now) is that many US citizens really believe their country will survive or maybe have an overall benefit from climate change. So whilst much of the rest of planet will suffer greatly they have no need to sacrifice there living standard. "Six Degrees" by Mark Lynas tells us that another beneficiary will be Russia, but they risk getting invaded by China for their oil and expanded cultivatable farmland. And so the other key message in the programme's is that climate change and oil shortages could spark world war three. If you live in Europe may not need to worry so much unless - you are under 25. But don't buy a less then 2 meters below sea as it may depreciate in value as the populace becomes more aware of the future risks. This was a great drama with rich dialogue that I could watch again several times. That's the test of a good TV production, the 'watch it again' score.

Cru3 BURN UP is a sharply made four hour mini-series co-produced between the UK and Canada that tackles environmental issues - chiefly global warming - and wraps them up in a cracking conspiracy thriller. The series begins with a mass murder in the Saudi Arabian desert and climaxes at an environmental summit in Calgary. The main thrust of the plot is that evidence exists proving global warming is much farther along - and far more severe - than was previously believed, but is being suppressed to protect the economy. Acting honors belong to WEST WING vet Bradley Whitford as a morally vacant oil executive (dubbed the "High Prince of Carbon") determined to keep the oil flowing no matter what the damage or cost, and Marc Warren (HUSTLE)as an amusingly blunt British politician fighting against the tide. Fine work is also done by SPOOKS star Rupert Penry-Jones as a young oil executive awakening to the evil he is part of, and Neve Campbell as an environmental advocate working for him. A number of the personnel from SPOOKS worked on the mini-series, including director Omar Madha (doing an exceptional job here), and the intelligent script is by FULL MONTY scribe Simon Beaufoy. Lavishly produced (it actually looks better than a number of films I've seen in recent years) BURN UP is never boring, and achieves what it sets out to do: present a story that engages and thrills the viewer.

PsyGuy I thought this was an excellent mini-series. It certainly managed to hold my attention. It was well acted with no notable exceptions. It was well paced, relevant, and frighteningly believable. I cannot say I know anything about this prior to catching it on TV, and I really don't have the background to suggest how factually accurate any aspect of this might be, but it certainly is an eye-opener and a possible starting place for people to become interested in the global politics and economics surrounding the existing establishment and the impact and importance of climate change and environmental awareness.This sort of program is what I have been expecting a move towards in a supposedly educated, modern world. I honestly think individuals fail to realize the power they have in todays society. The ability for any of us individually or collectively have our voices heard in a global forum via television, and in more recent times, the internet, is something we all conveniently manage to forget in our own personal pursuit of entertainment. Programs like this use the oft wasted resources not only to entertain, but to engage us, and even help to educate us to the fragile nature of the world we have helped to forge. At the end, we get to back to our self-indulgent lifestyle, but perhaps feeling a bit more consciously aware of our own silent participation and perpetuation of the status quo. I believe this mini-series challenges us to face the facts by confronting us with the cold reality that no matter what the ultimate reason ends up being, things will not just continue on the way they presently do. If were smart and bold enough, we will prepare ourselves to meet the challenges and deal with the issues before it is forced upon us, ready or not.