The movie opens with a small tremor occurring in the hills outside Los Angeles near a United States Geological Survey research post, cutting to a scene of a teenage girl on a date with her boyfriend at the Earthquake Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. The girl is later revealed to be Heather, daughter of Clare Winslow, a seismologist with the USGS. Clare and her staff, among whom is her assistant Jerry Soloway, have been studying a series of tremors near Los Angeles. With this information, she concludes that there is a better-than-average chance that a massive earthquake will strike along the San Andreas Fault and cause severe damage to Los Angeles, and such an earthquake appears imminent. She conducts an interview with Kevin Conrad, a sensationalist television reporter who prematurely airs it, creating a political firestorm and causing tension between Clare and her husband Steve. Steve works closely with high-powered and wealthy real estate developer Wendell Cates who faces losing money and his socio-political reputation from public fear of the possibility of the earthquake. Wendell threatens Clare and attempts to have her fired from her job. Nevertheless, Clare tries to alert the more skeptical city and state government officials including Chad Spaulding of the Office of Emergency Management. Fearing political fallout and possible panic, they decide to ignore her warnings. As this unfolds, Clare's family dynamic is further explored through her strained relationship with teenage daughter Heather, which is mirrored by the relationship of Clare's mother Anita Parker and Clare's sister Laurie, who are estranged from each other due to Anita's open resentment of Laurie's romantic relationship with LAPD officer Matt. When tremors are detected along the smaller, lesser-known Newport-Inglewood fault, city officials call a news conference to alert citizens of the threat. For most residents, however, it will already be too late. Not long after preparations and evacuations begin, the long-feared earthquake strikes, causing massive damage and killing thousands; among the victims is Anita, who had been trapped in a high-rise condominium elevator with Laurie during the quake. During the time that they are trapped they reconcile shortly before Laurie is rescued by other survivors, but Anita is less fortunate and dies when the elevator crashes to the bottom of the shaft. Another victim is Miguel, son of Clare's housekeeper Sonia, who is fatally injured during the collapse of his high school gymnasium at his graduation rehearsal. Steve Winslow is thought to be dead after being crushed by a wall at the airport, but he is revealed to have survived the quake at the end of the film. Other deaths include those of Wendell Cates, who is thrown to his death from his skyscraper window, and Chad Spaulding, who is electrocuted while attempting to escape from the USGS safety bunker beneath City Hall. A more redeeming storyline is that of Kevin Conrad, who is transformed from a cut-throat reporter looking for a hot story into a more sensitive and humanitarian character deeply affected by the tragedy and devastation. The remainder of the movie centers on the political and social fallout following the earthquake, and Winslow's attempts to reunite with her family.
Reception
The Washington Post wrote, “Bad as it is, "The Big One" does seem an improvement over the 1974 theatrical release "Earthquake," which also fantasized the destruction of L.A. Why do filmmakers keep returning to this topic? Guilt. They feel sheepish about all the money they make from mediocre entertainment and are haunted by the fear that there's biblical-scale retribution in the works.” Michael Hill of The Baltimore Sun praised the special effects and compared it to the poignancy of The Day After. He also described it as “a throwback to TV films of more than a decade ago, "The Big One" is a well-made mess of a melodrama, hitting every one of its predictable notes with force and clarity, adding the bombastic percussion of nearly-spectacular special effects to an appropriately responsible cautionary message."
