It didn't take me long after 'Highlander' to see that director Russell Mulcahy had struck lucky in creating one of my favourite movies of all time. I've really not been a fan of his, so watching 'On The Beach' was a bit of a strange experience. Thankfully, it was filled with just enough originality and reasons to be liked for me to go the distance with it! Firstly, and most importantly to those looking for a thrill, this is not your movie. It's entirely character driven with a smattering of symbolism and it might be a bit too emotional for the action movie crowd. It's a show with an anti-nuclear message.

That being said, Mulcahy did infinitely more with $10 million than 'Blair Witch Project' did with $15 million in the same year and much of that comes down to the efforts and chemistry of the cast. That is a testament to the effort put into this production, though, as you really have to wonder; random camcorders and camping in the woods cost $5 million more than a submarine, a cast of international actors and a soundtrack? How? Moving on, I've never seen Armand Assante take the lead and now I'm looking to see what of his I can watch next. He was captivating from start to finish, taking up his character's mantle as though he'd been in the navy all his life. As for more tender and emotional scenes, it's quite endearing to watch such a gruff and edgy man portray all that he did. He carries much of the movie, but sometimes it's rushed outcome overshadows him.

Bryan Brown suffers an impatient or rushed cinematographer, not to mention a script that needed reigning in, whereas Rachel Ward and Grant Bowler came across as very natural and understated until it really counts.

As for any action, unfortunately it's the edgier scenes that Mulcahy was better known for that he consistently failed at. It really made me wonder what happened to him as a director because how could he mature as a dramatic director and then becomes so bad at what made him famous? All faults aside (including some horrendous editing), it's still a good effort and after all is said and done, if this TV movie and its culminating scenes don't blow your mind and leave you chilled to the bone, then I fear for the future. I think you have to want the message in order to want the film in this case!

I first viewed the film "On the Beach" in its original 1959 version when I was about 10 years old - it was quite a big thing then, shown for a long term engagement in "Cinamascope" at the Cineramma Theater in San Diego, CA. The story and film frightened me, but made a big impact - and it has always stuck with me - I never forgot it. Now I have just finished viewing the 2000 version of "On the Beach" with Rachel Ward, Armand Assante and Bryan Brown. I was mesmerized - especially good was the second half, when the central characters are coming to terms with the reality of the end of the world and their own forth-coming deaths. The ending scenes with father Lt. Peter Holmes and his wife Mary and little daughter were so touching and broke my heart (and the tears flowed freely). Although the characters of the submarine commander Dwight (Armand Assante) and the single party-hearty Moira (Rachel Ward) were interesting, I never grew to really care about them, at least not Moira. Rachel Ward just didn't come through for me enough to make Moira genuine and someone you could care about. Armand Assante did a good job as the tough commander who revealed an inner core of love and caring. Bryan Brown as the cold unfeeling Dr. Julian Osborne was all right, and Brown managed to give him some sense of emotions at the end. The cast of the submarine crew were all excellent. All in all, I was greatly moved (once again) by this new version of "On the Beach" - and I think the makers of this film did an outstanding job.

In 1959, the film "On the Beach" was relevant and very frightening to us Americans living at that time. Several of my neighbors were building "fallout shelters" and we regularly had "nuclear strike drills" at school with scary sirens blaring (diving under a desk! "Tuck & Cover" our teacher told us as we tucked ourselves into a ball under our desks and covered our heads with our arms - as if that would save us?). Those were frightening times.

Perhaps today, almost 50 years after the first film was made, it is not as likely that we humans will totally annihilate ourselves, families and children with nuclear weapons, at least I hope not. But we sill have that capability - and with the current "clash of civilizations" (and religious beliefs) between Islam and the West, ultimately destroying ourselves may be even more likely now than in it was 1959. Watching the 2000 version of "On the Beach" is a stark reminder of how it all may turn out if we are stupid enough to do so.

I highly recommend this film.

Seeing the young couple go out with their daughter and their love for one another made me think about how alone I am personally. If I had to go out in this situation, that is exactly how I would want to go..with my spouse and baby on a bed in an embrace. Beautiful.

At first I hated Rachel Ward's character and even her acting, but then I realized that she was real. She admitted that she was a floozy, but that doesn't mean that floozies don't have feelings or the need for genuine companionship. Her acting was actually quite good.

Armand Assante nailed this one. Very intense, real emotion. Loved it.

I think there should have been more if any, mention of the fact that the U.S. is not the bad guy in geopolitics. There was an implied guilt. I guess in this film it was the Chinese. That's fine, but make it clear.

I don't know about many people being from S.F. on the crew. That was just borrowed from the original. How many white guys in the marines are from urban S.F. in modern times? Even the black guy in this one was from the suburbs.

The photography/scenery is spectacular. The movie was a bit too long. They really drew it out, but I was never bored.Yes, there are some sappy love stories, but those exist in real life. If they annoy you in movies, this one will drive you crazy.

The most important scene involved the new rendition of the stopover in Alaska. They changed some things from the original film, but it was great. Armand had a break down and showed real emotion. The Gregory Peck character was very stoic in the first one. Some other commenter mentioned that men of the 50's weren't supposed to show emotion.

The Bryan Brown character was tough to take. I found it hard to believe that an award winning scientist was also a loudmouth playboy, even given the reputation of Australian men. It was like he was the guy from Cocktail again.

One thing that I kept on thinking about was the fact that we are all going to die anyways, with or without nuclear war. But I guess the heaviness was also about the fact that the world was coming to an end. We all wind up getting sick and dieing, so that's no different. Although granted, most of the people in this one were too young to die.

I really felt the desperation of the people when it showed them wanting to take one last look at the ocean or make love one more time, etc. It's so hard to accept death. Like bed time when you're a kid and there's company over, or a good movie on.

This one will stay with me for a long time. Nice job overall. Give it a chance if you like intense drama.