The Challenger Disaster (2019) User Reviews

Different perspective

[kevnbren · 7/10 · 2 March 2019]

This movie gave a different perspective on the Challenger disaster. Was very interesting. So sad that the voices of these engineers was not heard to avoid the inevitable explosion. The movie is family friendly without any offensive dialogue or scenes. I wish I had done a little more research before watching, so some questions I had would be answered. Was a low budget film, but done very well-music, scenery and actors very authentic. So glad I watched.

So sad

[korifredenburg · 7/10 · 30 July 2019]

I can't imagine the battle these guys went through!! Very interesting perspective on the tragic disaster and the struggle to do the right thing. These men were as brave as those astronauts who boarded the Challenger on Jan 28th. Sad to think if they would've waited one day we might still have a NASA shuttle program today.

Great concept but sadly low budget

[chantellgreen-130-229089 · 5/10 · 6 July 2019]

Loved the idea of presenting the story from the engineers perspective, but the writing, directing and acting are all sadly overacted (or underacted in some cases) and the focus at times was strange without moving the story forward. The incessant yelling behind the scenes by the contracted engineers was endless without moving forward. It's sad that the low budget made this movie miss the mark.

Not so good

[rgirard777-1 · 6/10 · 30 May 2019]

This film has a great topic, but appears to be a low budget film. Some of the acting is horrible.

Important story, badly portrayed

[debpennington-49812 · 2/10 · 7 July 2019]

This story is one which needs to be heard...the almighty dollar must be made no matter how many lives are at risk. Thirty plus years later have we learned anything?

The movie had a lot of vital information but deserves a lot better production. The acting was atrocious, the dialogue was abysmal, I had a difficult time even finishing watching. I did because I wanted to know the story but I admit I did a lot of cringing.

Watch it for the education, do your best to not be distracted by the poor production.

What a miss!!

[macias-m76 · 6/10 · 29 July 2019]

This movie should have been better... NO. it needed to be better!! people needed to know this story. but will not at all because of poor job done

Terrible movie with interesting story.

[bunkator-552-205729 · 3/10 · 14 July 2019]

Simply put this is one of the worst movies I've seen in long time. I watched it through because the subject matter is of huge interest to me. It's a shame that as a movie every element is bad. But I did learn from it. The basic story needs to be told, but it would be nice if it were also a watchable film.

Excellent

[erika_lenk · 10/10 · 26 January 2019]

First and foremost, the best stories are told for further conversations. This movie definitely meets this goal. Being a high school senior at the time of the Challenger Disaster, Christa Mcauliffe was definitely America's sweetheart, teachers were a big part of my life and I had a high interest in seeing this movie. The movie tells the story of courageous candor with the contrast of the lack there of. The main character, a NASA engineer showed an incredible passion for what he believed and took all the steps he could to hinder the flight to space. Incredible historical set with the smallest details of the 80's. My husband and I thougholy enjoyed it and the long conversations afterwards...our measurement for a great movie.

Hauntingly sad account of a terrible disaster that lacks some production values

[barry-woods · 7/10 · 10 February 2020]

This film has both good and bad components. The good: in many ways it is haunts and eats after you, and after the film one feels very dejected. This bad feeling hangs around with you for a long time after you watch it. Sadness for the lives lost, sadness for the engineers who tried to stop the launch but couldn't and anger at Morton-Thikol and NASA management.

Also good was befitting musical score that fit the film perfectly. Even the very well done opening titles/credits set the tone of the tone of the film and puts the viewer in a somber state.

On the bad side: poorly written dialogue, at times, sophomoric acting, with the exception of the lead, Eric Hanson. He does a very good job even with some dialogue that sounds as if it were written by a novice student in a creative writing class. Although the material is engrossing, your mind never truly forgets you are watching a film, and a rather amateur attempt, at a film. The director has little clue about pacing or how to get uniformity in acting from the casts. Even Dean Cain comes across no better than a a high school kid in a class production.

The characters come across as caricatures instead of real life characters. Yet amazingly, because you know it's a true and sad story, you accept all the amateur production values and get emotionally involved. If nothing else it is educational, and I think everyone should see it.

Now days this is literally nothing. In a major motion picture this would be the salary of just one minor player. The low production costs explain the problems with the film. Had it been given a large budget, a reputable director and a class writer, it would have been an A+ film. I don't want to denigrate this film, as considering the budge, it was as well done as could possibly have been.. As mentioned the opening credits are very professional and set the stage, and most of the visual elements are quite well done.

The film never mentions the name of the actual rocket booster contractor, presumably because of a potential lawsuit against the filmakers. The contractor who made the rocket boosters was Morton-Thiokol of Utah. Yes, the same Morton Ccompany that puts salt on your dinner table was the company that also murdered seven astronauts The top management of Morton-Thikol overrode the the recommendations of its engineers that the launch should be postponed until the outdoor temperatures at Cape Canaveral had risen.

By all means, watch this movie. Just try to not concentrate on its amateur dialogue, acting and direction, but concentrate on the message it is presenting. There is something we should all learn from this film..... never be pressure by others to not do what we know is right.

Watch the 2013 Challenger Disaster, Not This...

[fleck05IMDB · 2/10 · 4 August 2019]

Oh, this one hurts. Look up the 2013 Challenger Disaster Movie on IMDB and notice how the characters are the names of real people (Richard Feynman, Sally Ride, Neil Armstrong) vs this movie (Larry the Lawyer, Adam, Mary...). I don't understand why this movie was made. Dean Cain, it's okay to say no sometimes. Watch the far superior Challenger Disaster with William Hurt and Brian Dennehy. It was released on Discovery and National Geographic channels - maybe it's on their app or their websites. If you want to see the story of the Challenger Disaster seek out that movie.

Fantastic!

[shanapope · 10/10 · 29 January 2019]

Really enjoyed this movie-a solid production. I remember that day vividly. Now I have perspective on what the engineers who tried to stop the launch went through. The cast did a great job.

"You know, these days, space flight is very safe."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 22 April 2019]

It's too bad the production values and acting in this film are so bad because it has a legitimate story to tell, and even though I knew the story of the Challenger and the faulty O-rings, it was difficult to concentrate on that aspect of the picture with the actor representing the character 'Adam'. His over the top manner was so headstrong and domineering that he came across as a caricature of the person in real life who would have had a personal stake in getting the mission to abort or reschedule. With seven human lives and the prestige of the American space program at stake, I can't imagine why the launch time couldn't have been moved in consideration of the engineering team and their fervent resolve. I wonder how the headstrong proponents of getting the Challenger to lift off can look at themselves in the mirror knowing that their mistake in not accepting the facts led to a catastrophic calamity. In short, a worthwhile story but a flawed delivery.

Created an account just to review this

[thenathanmedeiros · 1/10 · 26 June 2019]

I was expecting Apollo 13 grade, but ended up with some low-budget straight to dvd film with terrible dialogue. The cast did the best they could with it, but whoever wrote the script has no idea how humans interact with each other. I've been waiting YEARS for this to be depicted in a big budget, blockbuster film and I put this on expecting just that. Instead it's an hour and a half of engineers yelling at each other. I get that its hard to build suspense when the tragedy is so well known, but the suspense between the characters didn't translate to suspense for the viewer. I hope Challenger gets the proper attention it should. I was expecting Chernobyl and ended up getting a high-budget Youtube video.

Could have been better . . .

[ghostjf-33001 · 7/10 · 13 April 2024]

There are two main problems with this movie: editing, and the director's attempt to use bickering engineers as the primary source of drama. In the beginning of the movie, the film cuts back and forth between two sets of lawyers that occurs long after the disaster. This is a bit confusing; unnecessarily so. Then we move to an argument of engineers at Morton Thiokol -- pre-disaster. There isn't any good reason for not relating this story chronologically or at least not flipping around indiscriminately. Secondly, the true story has plenty of drama without trying to artificially create drama by having the engineers engaging in an angry, disrespectful argument, which was apparently grossly exaggerated from what really happened.

Another disaster.....

[speedbumpax · 3/10 · 27 January 2019]

.......Another disaster is the acting from top to bottom in this film along with about everything else. A great topic but terribly done.

Story is good, cinematography is crap

[mark-57736 · 4/10 · 24 August 2020]

The story is good! The acting is good! But for some reason they filled each set with smoke to make it look like the 80's, but instead the shots look over exposed and poorly graded.

This is a really, really good movie

[benjamin_ward · 9/10 · 26 January 2019]

With strong acting and direction, this film manages to make talk riveting, à la "The China Syndrome". It's hard to make a movie about an event where everyone knows the outcome, but watching this film I really felt like I was getting a look behind the curtain, as we spend the night before the tragic launch with five of the engineers. It's engrossing, at times harrowing, and ultimately heartbreaking.

Horrible Acting Makes Film Unrealistic

[davidjamesguidice · 1/10 · 20 September 2019]

Very poor acting makes characters unbelievable and ruins dramatic affect of story line. I fast forwarded almost half the movie because I couldn't stand listening to the dialogue.

I enjoyed this movie - even though we all know the ending

[srobertson-75103 · 9/10 · 22 July 2019]

This was a very enlightening film. Even the most powerful institutions are influenced by personal egos, selfish motives and, of course, money. I've worked in the corporate world, and I'd say I've been in similar situations - although lives were not at stake. I would say this movie is very true to life and I'm old enough to remember exactly where I was when this disaster happened. Very tragic and after watching this movie, even more so...

a reminder

[ops-52535 · 4/10 · 25 January 2019]

Challenger accident of 1986 was a big catastrophe both at human level and on the space exploration scheduele. this film is about the rubber seals characteristics when used in cold freezing environments,and the heavy discussions before and after the incident, where to put the blame. for me its just a reprise of many known facts,and we must akcnowledge that many trues and documents have been shreded and hidden from the public,to mainain a good reputation. the ring failed the shuttle went down,a hard lesson to learn,and never happened again. so who was right....?

its a low budget lots of chit-chating grumpy old men,1 location, mediocre acting,thus the main had some very good verbal statements. the filmography are at times blury and the sound product are not good. its not a good film, the makersn do trym to touch the sad strings of emotions, but it doesnt work . it can be of some importance as an informational flick for the younger generation. discovery channel and natiuonal geographic has made very decent documentaries on the rubber seal issue so search and enjoy.

Very bad movie about a subject that could have been interesting

[YRLY59E · 1/10 · 29 January 2019]

This movie is supposed to be about The Challenger disaster. It could have been interesting.

Instead a lot of overacting and yelling. It's basically a bunch of space shuttle engineers bantering about whether or not the o rings would hold up to certain temperatures.

Cinematography is horrid low budget, poor sound, depressing classical music as a soundtrack. Basically it's just guys arguing around a table. It's foggy/smoky in the room but no one is smoking. That is about 90% of the film and could have been filmed in a garage, basement and house.

It tries to play on emotion but it doesn't, seeing it happen when I was a little kid I still remember and that was emotional, this tries to be and it isn't. I'm fact the bad overacting had me laughing.

Do not watch this. Save yourself some time.

The only good part in this movie was the worst part in the story!

[KevTheMovieReviewer · 2/10 · 1 February 2019]

We all know the Challenger story. It has been made into movies several times, some with this very title. This films focuses on one man's struggle to stop the launch. I'm not sure it's a true story myself because the engineer stated numerous times that he had been aware of the issue for over a year and could not convince anyone! Why would it be so hard to point out a flaw to your company? I don't care if you don't know how to speak to people, it is a simple thing to accomplish.

That is not what totally ruined it for me though, it was the horrible acting. If this film did not have Cain and Morshower in it the film would receive no stars from me. Why these two would agree to this flimsy script I don't know. The rest of the cast needed a lot of schooling in the field of acting, either that or different careers. Sorry, I don't mean to be so hard but they have taken a tragic time and a powerful story and made it into a joke.

It was emotional in this film when it was the launch day. We all know the story and the heartbreak that ensued. The rest of the time, before and after in this film was a pure waste of time. Do not go by the poster for this film, it looks interesting but that is it!! I recommend you watch one of the many other films about this story and give this one a pass.

This movie changes lives. A must see!!

[monicasantosquinones · 10/10 · 29 January 2019]

If you were one of the students who watched this event live, if you knew or know anyone working on the space program, if you know someone in an engineering field, if you recall the day of January 28, 1986 and how it stopped the world, you must watch this movie!! Memories that you had long stored will come back as we remember this tragic time in space history. Besides teaching an invaluable lesson, this movie honors the sacrifice of the heroes lost, and brings hope for justice to the men who tried to prevent it, but were pressured to carry the burden of this tragedy for the rest of their lives. Details unknown by many until now are presented, and are quite an eye-opening for many that need to know. Growing up I dreamed of being an astronaut & even knew of a neighbor who worked at NASA. I knew a lot about space at my young age. The day of The Challenger's tragedy I watched it live with my classmates at school. We were so excited for all of the amazing astronauts, and because of Mrs. Mcauliffe. That day my kid's heart was destroyed, along with my dreams. I became an engineer instead, and this movie is so powerful in the way it portrays what engineers have to go through in their daily jobs. All engineers will be able to identify to each of these characters. I still love space and have taken my kids to see 3 attempted launches, which were cancelled at the last minute in the past years. After watching this movie, I now understand why they were cancelled, and would not take it any other way. I took my teenager kids to watch this movie and they loved it! This movie should be watched by all adults now who were adults/kids then, and by the current younger generations as they prepare into their careers and into becoming good and caring citizens of the world. The world needs more of this!!

Boring unless you are clueless about what happened pre-launch

[stevepat99 · 3/10 · 4 February 2019]

We should launch, we should not launch, we should launch, we should not launch, We should launch, we should not launch, we should launch, we should not launch, too cold, not too cold, too cold, not too cold, too cold, not too cold, too cold, not too cold, too cold, not too cold, too cold, not too cold.

Do Not Mind the Rating

[nklmrsn · 10/10 · 5 March 2019]

This movie is good on so many levels and is a wonderful drama to watch. it gives a totally different perspective on the whole challanger subject. i kind of feel that the engineers finally get a voice after all these years. i absolutely recommend it!