Review – Aftermath: Population Zero

This is really more of a program on the National Geographic channel than an actual movie. Indeed, once the ads and duplicated footage are removed, it probably isn’t even feature length. But a few of its elements bear mention. For starters, the premise is fascinating: what if every human being on the face of the earth suddenly vanished? In the wake of this über-rapture, the world almost immediately begins to change. The production spends an inordinately large amount of time dwelling on the fate of our house pets. We even get treated to a bizarre battle between abandoned dogs and a free-roaming zoo elephant (as if such occurrences would be among the primary consequences of humanity’s departure). On the other hand, once the film-makers finish scratching the house pet itch (around midway through), the story gets interesting. In the end, it’s a comforting surprise to learn just how swiftly almost all trace of mankind – and the damage we’ve done to the planet – will vanish from the face of the earth. For my taste, I would have preferred more emphasis on the long-term stuff. The tale of what would happen to Paris, London and New York is interesting, but more cities and landmarks (and less wild dogs) would have made this a better production. Mildly amusing