Aftershock is a fictional melodramatic movie framed by two historic natural disasters to elevate a Lifetime narrative. Aftershock is Sophie’s Choice meets the San Francisco earthquake except in China, a larger seismic event, and a complete absence of political tension. Aftershock unfolds over thirty years. I did enjoy the fact that the military was clearly the good guy instead of the villain, which is rare in any disaster film, but is this how people felt or a bit of propaganda left over from the Cultural Revolution? I have no idea, but the military husband/father was my favorite character. There isn’t a lot of character development other than the characters’ reaction to the dramatic events of 1976. There are a lot of cheesy sunrise sunset moments: a mother on her death bed, someone getting pregnant outside of marriage, etc. I was frustrated that the reunion between two characters isn’t even shown. Aftershock aims for epic, but only ends up being a sketch of real life. Overall I enjoyed all the actors’ performances except the guy playing a Canadian sounded like they pulled him off the street and gave him the script seconds before-wooden delivery. Aftershock is only a must see if you want to see what a beautifully shot Chinese Lifetime movie is like.