What makes it different from others?

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Sorry, this movie sucks

Brilliant and touching

I have to thank CBC, actually, for making this movie. Before a visit to Halifax on the QE2, I had never heard of the Explosion (typical American - although, in fact, I'm Canadian-born). But even seeing the great memorial didn't really register the extent of the disaster until I saw the movie. Yes, characters were combined or fictionalized in some cases, but that is absolutely secondary to the portrayal of that horrific episode in Canadian history. The effects of the blast were particularly well done. I hope it plays again, as indeed it should every couple of years or so, to remind us all of both the losses and the bravery incurred that day.

I really liked Vincent Walsh as the lead. He was very convincing in both the family-oriented scenes and the action stuff. The impending tragedy and the mundane actions that led to it were well-played and very gripping. It was nice to see a number of veteran Canadian actors like Lynne Griffin and Graham Green in large and small roles. I also thought the subplot about German saboteurs was both nicely diverting and added to the suspense. While Canadian productions can never hope to compete with Hollywood for budget and special effects, they can provide a Canadian "feel" to a project and "Shattered City" does that very well.

This story was good, but it could have been done better, in an actual mini-series instead of a 4 hour movie. The characters were one dimensional, I really didn't feel like I knew them well enough to feel for them.I felt like each story of each character's life was half told. We're left to draw our own conclusions at the end of the movie. Less than 3 weeks after the blast we see the Collins family setting up Christmas tree, on Christmas Day. They are smiling and happy. It's like the disaster had never happened, and their father was still alive. I found this so hard to believe. Life does have to gone on, but after experiencing something that cataclysmic, would your heart been into Christmas? Did the trial really happen that rapidly? Was everything all well so soon after the explosion? It would have been best to show the Collins family a year later. I would have liked to see what we knew would happen anyway, Charlie falling in love with Dr. Paxton, Court all better, Trixie with her baby. The ending sort of spoiled the entire movie. The filming of the explosion itself could not have been done any better. It was very detailed, and very realistic. My grandma who lived through WWII had trouble watching the scene, because it was such a realistic explosion, right down to the books being blown to bits.

CBC is doing what it is supposed to do and it's hard to fault them for that. This story of the Halifax Explosion of 1917 is good but it could be much better. It's also plagued by small errors. (A CNR logo in 1917? WW2 style posters in WW1. A 1930's folding camera with a flash? I don't think so. I spotted these in the first episode. I'm sure there were others.) The characters in the stories woven through the tragedy are both predictable and one dimensional. However the drama leading up to the explosion is well executed and the recreation of Halifax harbour full of old ships is effective. It's good but falls far short of being great.