TV Review: Chernobyl

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Synopsis: CHERNOBYL dramatizes the 1986 nuclear accident, one of the worst human-made catastrophes in history, and tells the story of the brave men and women who made incredible sacrifices to save Europe from unimaginable disaster, all the while battling a culture of disinformation.

Review: The nuclear disaster at the center of this mini-series is one that virtually every person is aware of. A monumental event in human history, Chernobyl has become synonymous with the perils of nuclear disaster and a key moment in the Cold War. But, until now, we have never seen ihe events dramaticized in any extensive manner aside from a 1991 made for television film starring Jon Voight. HBO and Sky have partnered on this event series that pulls no punches in recounting the events from the moment the nuclear reactor core exploded through the days and months that followed. Chernobyl is haunting, disturbing, and will go down as one of the most gut-wrenching disaster stories ever put to film.

Directed by Johan Renck (Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead), Chernobyl is a look at every level of the Soviet Union involved with the disaster from the victims in the city of Pritypat, the first responders, and the local and national leaders who tried to cover it up. Leading the way are Emily Watson as Ulana Khomyuk, a nuclear physicist in Minsk, Stellan Skarsgard as Deputy Prime Minister Boris Legasov, and Jared Harris as Legasov, the scientist confronting the lies the Soviet leaders are trying to tell. While the entire cast is English-speaking, most of the actors will be more recognizable to British audiences including Adam Nagaitis, David Dencik, Jessie Buckley, and more. This is a top notch cast of performers in a production with an extensive attention to detail.

The film itself unravels in a fairly traditional manner and pulls no punches showing just how horrible nuclear accidents can be. This is absolutely not a film for those with weak stomachs but it should be required viewing for everyone. The visual depiction of the immediate effects of the explosion on those in the plant is then followed by the escalating impact to those close to the reactor all the way to hundreds of miles away. It is easy to write off Chernobyl as something that impacts Russian history, but as Jared Harris' character states during the series, this is an event that had never occurred in human history. The sheer magnitude of what Chernobyl did to our planet is a major theme to this mini-series and it will hit you as a viewer within minutes of the first episode.

But there is an even more disturbing side to the story. The ignorance of the Soviet government is almost as hard to watch as the physical effects of the disaster. Their refusal to acknowledge that the reactor explosion even occurred will have you wanting to rip your own hair out in frustration. A side effect of the Communist controlled government, this same ignorance has been seen in Soviet-set films like CHILD 44 and the excellent HBO film CITIZEN X. Embodied by Skarsgard's gruff Boris Shcherbina, the Soviet government is a cruel and brutal component of why Chernobyl unfolded the way it did. Skarsgard and Jared Harris deliver excellent performances opposite one another as we see all of the ways things could have been done that would have saved hundreds, even thousands, of innocent lives.

But, like any good disaster movie, Chernobyl has heroes as well as villains. Watson's Ulana Khomyuk is a brilliant physicist who comes in at a crucial juncture to prevent an even worse disaster from occurring. There are also the plant workers, medical professionals, and more who gave their lives to save millions from nuclear winter. The neutral tone of the story never pushes for cheap moments of drama or thrills but instead presents the events in an almost documentary-like manner. In that regard, this miniseries can sometimes feel cold and detached but it serves the story well in giving us a look at a terrible chapter in human history. This is something of a surprise coming from screenwriter Craig Mazin, best known for writing SCARY MOVIE 3 and 4, THE HANGOVER PART II and PART III as well as the upcoming CHARLIE'S ANGELS. Mazin does an admirable job tackling such a complex tale from so many perspectives.

Chernobyl is part disaster movie and part ghost story. It is a political thriller and a historical drama. It is also one of the most difficult movies to watch as you see countless characters who all face their own mortality as the skies around them are pumped full of poison. Chernobyl remains one of the worst man-made disasters in history and seeing it on screen almost 33 years to the day will stick with you for a long time. This is not an action movie by any means and viewers need to anticipate a long and arduous viewing experience that shifts from the horrors of radiation exposure to the political machinations that obfuscated the true events for years. This is a difficult story to watch but a vital one even if you probably will never want to see it a second time.

Chernobyl premieres May 6th on HBO.