MovieChat Forums > Particle Fever (2014) Discussion > Particles struggle like scientists do..

Particles struggle like scientists do..

posted 8 years ago by Youwillhateme
3 replies | jump to latest

This documentary which I was looking forward to see just struggled to find it's tone and subject matter. I thought it was about particles, but then it shifted to being about a machine to discover new particles and then it shifted to background on different scientists. They tried to play it like a suspense, but nothing ever happened. And in the end very little happened.

There wasn't enough character study to care about the people, and not enough educational material to really learn that much, except a 2-3 minute piece about atoms, neutrons, electrons etc. And since we never really discovered much, there was no plot ending.

So much unnecessary footage of people just waiting around, for nothing.

Really too bad it never found its structure.

[–] TxMike 8 years ago

I am a Scientist, but not a Physicist. I have taken an interest in the LHC for a number of years and somewhat anxiously waited for the day when some results would be publicized, something to verify in my mind that the project had some merit.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable film for me, covering not only the LHC and its experiments, but also very interesting insights into some of the Physicists who had roles.

And, of course, it presents the initial findings of experiments to discover and measure the mass of the "God Particle", the Higgs Boson. And what a surprise it is!!

For those who have an interest in this sort of thing, I cannot imagine anyone watching it and not have a giant smile by the end.

..*.. TxMike ..*..
Take a risk, Take a chance, Make a change. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway

[–] thephoenixxx 8 years ago

I am not a scientist, wish I could have been but math & I just don't get along. I find science extremely interesting & am usually on the edge of my seat watching these types of documentaries, but this one fell somewhat flat for me. The majority of it seemed like filler. They went back and forth between numerous people, some of which didn't seem to really add anything. Did we really need a scene of the lady working in the Atlas section of the LHC running (or of her fridge)? Did we really need to see a party with some science-related rapping? No. I understand that this was the celebration of the LHC turning on for the first time, but it was quite dragged out. I 100% agree with you when you say there was a lot of unnecessary footage.

If this had been shorter & more concise then I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more. Or maybe I'm just not smart enough to grasp this topic in this much depth. Regardless, I didn't enjoy this particular documentary.

[–] headnotfound 8 years ago

idk. for my money, it doesn't get any better than physicists rapping.