Reception
In 2000, Aftershock: Earthquake in New York was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects. Michal Suchánek was nominated for a 1999 Young Artist Award in the "Best Performance in a TV Movie or Pilot - Young Actor Age Ten or Under" category.
Sight & Sound's Danny Leigh felt the movie was "predictable histrionic", over-long, and "geologically improbably." Ray Richmond of Variety found the film to be "roundly insipid" and a "mope opera that follows such a well-trod crisis path that viewers can set their watches by". Though he highly praised the film's special effects as being "sharp and impactful without being at all obtrusive", and noted the film had a talented cast, he heavily panned the story for being unrealistic and lacking genuineness. The New York Times Ron Wertheimer felt the numerous subplots left the film feeling fragmented and confusing, and that it present New York in an unrealistic light, even before the earthquake hits. Noting that the film has "hints of heartfelt drama, flashes of compelling characters, echoes of true connection," he felt some of the film's best moments came in its smaller scenes. He criticized Lawrence's performance, but praised Dutton and Skerrit's, particularly their interactions together, stating "their scenes provide a strong argument for letting television drama do what it does best: focus on the details of human interaction."
Tom Shales of The Washington Post gave the film a more positive review, calling it "one of the best disaster movies ever made for television" and a "fabulously entertaining ordeal". He praised the characters for being sympathetic, the actors for portraying them well, and director Salomon for his skill in building the film's suspense.
Read more about this topic: Aftershock: Earthquake In New York
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