Fresh
A tightly assembled didactic thriller.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
The China Syndrome
People who know the meaning of "The China Syndrome" are scared... Soon you will know.
1979 · 2h 2m · PG
Drama, Thriller
Directed by
James Bridges
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The China Syndrome
Overview
While doing a series of reports on alternative energy sources, opportunistic reporter Kimberly Wells witnesses an accident at a nuclear power plant. Wells is determined to publicize the incident, but soon finds herself entangled in a sinister conspiracy to keep the full impact of the incident a secret.
Director and cast
- James Bridges Director
- Jane Fonda as Kimberly Wells
- Michael Douglas as Richard Adams
- Jack Lemmon as Jack Godell
- Scott Brady as Herman De Young
- James Hampton as Bill Gibson
- Peter Donat as Don Jacovich
- Wilford Brimley as Ted Spindler
- Richard Herd as Evan Mc Cormack
- Daniel Valdez as Hector Salas
- Stan Bohrman Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
88%
Tomatometer
Rotten
A moderately compelling thriller about the potential perils of nuclear energy, whose major fault is an overweening sense of its own self-importance.
Variety Staff, Variety
Fresh
All a bit too earnest, despite the seriousness of the subject, with Fonda setting her jaw and stepping into father's footsteps as Tinseltown's very own protector of humanity; but it's tightly scripted and directed, and genuinely tense in places.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Fresh
A terrific thriller that incidentally raises the most unsettling questions about how safe nuclear power plants really are.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Fresh
The three stars are splendid, but maybe Miss Fonda is just a bit more than that. Her performance is not that of an actress in a star's role, but that of an actress creating a character that happens to be major within the film.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
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