This film basically takes the hypotheses as to what can happen when the northern icepack melts and runs with them.
We are already post 2020 and the rising temperatures in Southern Europe have already made those areas uninhabitable, sparking massive migration northwards (sound familiar?). And out of fear that services and resources will be overwhelmed, drastic immigration controls are imposed in the UK.
So the Artic region is already under threat and to exacerbate this the Halo energy giant intends to drill to supply the world's spiraling energy demand. Richard Roxburgh warns that the drilling will speed up the melting and dump millions of gallons of cold fresh water into the North Atlantic, with dire effects on the Gulf Stream that warms the region.
Sam Neill can only see things from his limited global energy perspective and employs talented lawyer Frances O'Connor to maintain the status quo. But in good ole 'big business' tradition, when she also starts getting suspicious, the fight gets dirtier.
Being a hands on guy who limits the number of people allowed to be in on the dirty tricks, Neill is on the rig when the inevitable happens. The icepack cracks and melts, dumping all the fresh water, the Gulf Stream breaks down and a new Ice Age hits Northern Europe. Very ironically, the northern Europeans now have to migrate south, where the drought devastated lands will presumably be more amenable to human habitation once more.
Amid the chaos, Roxburgh and his new ally O'Connor, hasten to reunite with his family, who have gone to London to free his wife, who was carted off by the immigration authorities (presumably at Neill's instigation).
We have environmentalists who are studying polar bears and come to the rescue, London thugs who have armed themselves to exploit the situation, and a grandfather who makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the rest of the family. All in all it presents a convincing picture of 'what if' that is comparable to the film "The Day After Tomorrow", though arguably a lot more realistic, as it doesn't depend on abnormally extreme weather for its action, but simply a natural chain of events that have catastrophic consequences.
