Hard Rain is the latest in a long line of natural disaster movies. This time a small town is being evacuated due to a flood. An armored car picks up the last of it's cash and heads out of town, only to get stuck on a washed out road. The guys, Charlie (Edward Asner) and Tom (Christian Slater) call for help. When help arrives it turns out to be the bad guys. Jim (Morgan Freeman) and his crew of incompetents end up killing Charlie and Tom splits with the $3 million in cash and hides it. Tom runs into Karen (Minnie Driver) who did not leave the town, the lame duck sheriff (Randy Quaid) who lost the recent election, and an old married couple who also refuse to leave. Jim and his gang soon catch up with Tom and chase him around the flooded town.
The only notable performance came from Betty White as the annoying old woman from hell. She was constantly berating anyone within ear shot. The scenes she and her husband were in were the funniest and all around best in the movie. The action sequences were well done, especially the jet-ski chase through the halls of a high school. Karen only seemed to be in the movie so she and Tom could trade off saving each other from drowning. Why was the money being moved in the first place, were they afraid it would get wet? The biggest problem with Hard Rain is the lack of a strong bad guy. Jim was too wishy-washy, all he cared about was the money but he didn't want to hurt anyone and always seemed eager to help others, that adds up to a crappy antagonist. Hard Rain provides limited entertainment but it's not the worst option.