A formulaic Chernobyl-themed popcorn movie with heavy doses of nationalism, sentimentality and historical inaccuracy that doesn't try or wants to answer the big questions and instead focuses on a sentimental romance and tedious heroic dramatizations. However, if there's one good thing about it, it's Oksana Akinshina's great performance that shouldn't go unnoticed.
Add a Review
-
Master T21 July 2021The interesting part of this movie is to see how the Soviets see things as opposed to the western world (which we've seen in HBO's Chernobyl).
All government officials are amazing, helpful and only care about the well being of the country and its citizens. Seems somewhat unbelievable... -
fantamus2421 July 2021I see many saying that this movie is crap compared to the HBO mini series.
However these are two very different stories. And it's a mistake to compare them.
The HBO mini series is all about the actual Chernobyl accident, none fictional characters and none fictional events/storyline (mostly anyways). Almost a documentary about what happened.
This Netflix movie is about a fictional love story between fictional characters with the none fictional Chernobyl accident as the background story - inspiration.
It's a decent movie, decent story but just don't expect to learn a lot about the catastrophy. -
ssanitta21 June 2021This movie adds no value to the historic events or anything else for that matter. It was boring and dull. The storyline seemed forced and unwatchable.
The main character was like a bad rip-off of any Hollywood hero from the 80's with no substance.
Waste of time... If it's in Netflix's top 10, it doesn't mean it's good. It just means that there are many people like me who wanted to watch another point of view of the events at Chernobyl, but were heavily disappointed. -
kosmasp3 October 2021Now I think it is safe to say, that after the HBO drama, there had to be a response or a movie that tried to show things ... a bit differently. Do not try to compare the series with this if you can. The movie will lose out for sure.
Politics are thrown out (mostly, maybe if you are good willing you are able to see some small references) and it is all about the personal journey of 3 main characters - a "family" of sorts. Now I do not know what they were based on and I read there are many things that are anything but accurate. Having said that, if you suspend your disbelief and go with the flow you'll be able to enjoy the movie.
Well enjoy may be too strong of a word. There is enough tension from start to finish - although it does take a few moments ... or an introduction to the characters before it goes on. There are quite a few things that bugged me, but overall the movie worked and I was there with the characters. Again, it will depend how willing you are to suspend your disbelief ... otherwise you may not want to watch this at all. -
barrygonion13 June 2021After the HBO series?
These shoes are hard to fit in, and that's totally not the right size.
The script writers are really bad, the responsibility of the USSR government is almost 0.
Just watch the HBO one. -
I am really astonished at the low ratings for this Netflix version of Chernobyl called Chernobyl 1986. Yes, I have seen the HBO mini series, Chernobyl and loved every bit of it, except for the fact that it was terribly odd to see Ukrainians and Russians speaking in English. Compared to the HBO version head on, yes this one doesn't stand a chance, as the HBO version Sheds more details on the catastrophic events and had a far superior impression on the viewers minds. Chernobyl 1986, focuses on the personal life of a fictional character who plays a major role in containing certain aspects of the disaster.
The problem with Chernobyl 1986 is that, the movie looses about a good thirty minutes in introducing the lead character and his love life. Things get on track when disaster unfolds, it is when things get intense and sometimes even gripping. Lot of other characters are introduced along the way, and the core story moves to, locating and opening a valve near the reactor, though this part was already covered in the HBO series, but still, it keeps the viewers minds interested.
Cinematography is brilliant, with some shots really exceptional. Screenplay is good enough to keep the viewer interested by just telling a human side of the story, than a technical one. Production design, music, costumes and makeup were excellent. Editing is good and the movie has a runtime of 135 minutes. CGI has some good and bad bits equally. Sound design is excellent. Most of the actors play their parts decently with Oksana Akinshina's performance the best among the lot.
Overall, assuming that the viewer has seen the HBO mini series of the same name and knows all the technical details of the disaster, this movie will give you, a further crash course on true blue patriotism, soul touching love, sacrifice, some nail biting action sequences and a lesson on humanity. All these may sound very cheesy, but thankfully Chernobyl 1986 is definitely not, One has to thank its director Danila Kozlovskiy for that. I would recommend this movie to all the people who have watched HBO mini series, for a follow up of things. Watch it if you don't have anything else to do. 6.7 stars out of 10 for a movie that celebrates humanity and love above everything else. -
TomsZarans9 June 2021Out of this world fake!
I don't write reviews, but this is something... did the government write the script? And how can Netflix list such a misleading movie? I am speechless. -
Gabriel441622 July 2021First of all this movie isn't at all a copycat of or competitor for the HBO show Chernobyl.
The plot is obviously built around the same real historical event but similarities end right around there.
It has a whole different approach really being not a grand and comprehensive drama about the catastrophe but more a story about a vagabond reluctant to commit to anything learning about dedication, selflessness and sacrifice in the time of hardship and becoming a full fledged hero in the end.
A rather well written character arc.
Now the way the USSR of the 1980's is presented is typical of more recent Russian movies meaning a tad romanticized showing a cleaner, happier, more modern, more free country than it was in reality but not overly so and there is still plenty of honesty and criticism involved in the narrative too.
All in all this is a decent movie, not propaganda and not a rip off. -
Greetings from Lithuania.
"Chernobyl: Abyss" (2021) is a terrible movie. I think that after this disastrously bad movie, Danila Kozlovskiy's carrier as a director will end pretty soon. This movie felt like it took / ripped all from Hollywood movies produced some 20 years ago. It was like a rollecoster of all bad scenes from movie like "Peal Harbor" (2000) and beyond, with quick cuts every second showing and focusing on nothing meaningful for a second.
Overall, skip "Chernobyl: Abyss" and better watch HBO's masterpiece series than this crap. This movie done everything wrong. Even a very talented Oksana Akinshina did not had anything to do in this movie, which says a lot. Its not just a bad film, its a terrible one. -
ives-269-64440021 July 2021Not sure why so much hate.. the movie is not so bad.
I enjoyed id.
Would recommend. -
vernigor16 June 2021I was looking forward to seeing another take on this catastrophe.
Unfortunately, it turned out that this movie is a bad rip-off of the recent BBC/HBO series about the same events.
It leaves out all the good elements, and adds random melodrama.
We really don't have a clue what the characters are really doing, or why.
There are just a few characters, who even have a name. We don't know why apparently they need to keep coming back to flooded underground corridors with valves at the end of them.
The film has nothing about how or why the accident happened. -
annamargret56-927-25921525 July 2021You just have to keep in mind that part of the plot is fiction, even if it's based on the Chernobyl disaster. I honestly don't understand this low rating on the movie. Maybe because the plot is not accurate to the real event and that maybe irritates people? I get that but give the movie a try. Not best movie ever but way far from the worst!
-
sachinmini5 June 2021I saw the chernobyl serial before it and it was so good and to the point and after that i saw this film just making no point at any of the scene...It just ruined everything...A very bad film...I will recommend not to watch and if u really want to know about Chernobyl them go watch the serial ...It is soo much better than this film...Highly disappointed...
-
AgentMosco26 July 2021Those were my thoughts in the last 40 minutes. This film fails at making any sort of drama, or tension, and you can see clearly where they're trying. Laughed a little bit at some points. And how can they make it so really really boring? So, clearly I'm not a fan at all.
-
HakanGurkan21 July 2021Waste of money.
I wait so long for this movie. I olmost cry when i see this crap. -
royhectorkabanlit28 July 2021A decent Movie, nothing special, watchable enough with some good Thrills here and there. The Love Story angle is a bit too idealized, something which an Authoritarian State like Russia would approve.
I mean 2 good looking People staying single for a Decade because they sort of waited for each other? Also typical Politically Incorrect Russian Scenese like stopping a Bus to get a Girl to go with him. The Wokes would go livid with that Scene, LOL. -
I am not going to compare it with the HBO series. Taking the movie as it is, it's horribly bad, from so many points of view. Plot, layout, historical accuracy, characters and so on. It's all a big cliche of a movie that fails to deliver the message that the director really wanted to send. The movie makes you feel nothing, not only about the main characters but also about the whole Chernobyl disaster. How can you take such a horrible event and transform it in to a boring story that makes you feel nothing. If you want to watch it, know you'll waste your time. This movie has NOTHING to offer.
-
jamie-5081724 July 2021This is not a great film, but it's not as awful as the stars it's got. It's loosely based on the same events as the HBO series, but comparisons are pointless - the tone and approach are completely different. And while the HBO series wasn't documentary accurate, this one is even less so - often completely fictional and regularly quite silly.
But it's still interesting enough - especially to see a modern Russian interpretation of the USSR during that period. Some shots and ideas were engaging. The lead actress' performance was great (as it was in Sputnik) - I hope to see her in a lot more movies.
Unfortunately it fails to make the main characters believable or likeable, so in the melodramatic moments I really didn't care. If that aspect had been more successful then the dubious history may have been better received. -
totex-127 July 2021To be honest, I found this movie to be very disrespectful to the actual people who took part in trying to deal with this catastrophe.
Would not recommend. -
wael-eter25 July 2021It's a good movie. People may have liked the series better but this doesnt deserve a 4.6/10, jeez people.
Also nice to watch a russian movie for a change. -
Just to be frank about it: I could not force myself to watch it to the end, bored and disgusted got out somewhere about 2/3. And, just to clarify things, I actually enjoyed a lot of bad, modern Russian movies seriously lacking historical credibility like Rzev, T-34 and many more.
But this one, it's a clear no-go. It resembles a soviet-style history book: uncomfortable facts buried so deep that even with a microscope you cannot see them, a plot making no sense whatsoever and told with a subtlety of a Stalin-era propaganda speech. Hell, even Fortress of War, full of historic lies and bad heroism, was much better.
Within first five minutes I was taken aback by the behavior of the "firefighter hero" whose masculinity would make Arnold Schwarzenegger run for cover. His deeds (the firefighter's, not Arnie's), on a scala from 1 to 10 of alpha-male-toxic-masculinity land somewhere between 15 and 20. Then it only got worse. I'm only writing this review because I could actually see some "not terrible" comments. That is WRONG. This movie sets a new standard for "How not to make a historic-like movie".
At the moment this movie is only available in Netflix Russia, Latvia, Lithuanian and Georgia. That's a serious mistake. All the world should see, what a best-of-the-best Russian male stereotype, a superhero, wet dream of Russian ladies looks like. A caveman in comparison would seem like a gentle, sensible partner. Trying to imagine a person behaving this way in any modern, civilized city of the West made me speechless. Not any time after 1968 could this possibly be anywhere close to passable.
Last but not least: The HBO miniseries shines even stronger with this... malfunction of filming in comparison. If that is supposed to be the official, Russian answer to the HBO production, touted by the great GRUshnik Putin himself, well, what can I say. Everybody should (try to) see that... -
aleq48321 July 2021The problem with some viewers nowadays is that they have been so obsessed with facts and all the little details to be in movies yet forgetting that not all movies have to be accurate for cinematic purposes. There are documentaries for this category. Anyway, the movie is very entertaining and to see the catastrophe head-on gives us a glimpse of what could happen in certain disasters as terrible as the Chernobyl accident.
Give it a try and watch it with an open mind. Chernobyl is just the backdrop of the story, yet full of love. -
zanija-5196628 July 2021The movie isn't about the explosion itself, but rather about 2 random people and their life during that time.
Don't expect it to be anything like the HBO series and keep an open mind. You might enjoy it. -
No spoilers here, but if you want to watch a movie about Chernobyl.. don't waste your time. Every event, and the timeline itself, is fabricated. There's not an ounce of historical truth here, but plenty of made up drama. Skip, and watch the vastly, vastly superior HBO Series.