Scorcher

The President enlists Colonel Ryan Beckett to avert planetary catastrophe after a Chinese nuclear test destabilizes the Earth's core. Beckett is tasked with a near-impossible mission to prevent 'Hell on Earth' in just three days.

Beckett brings together a crack team of scientists and experts, including Julie and her father, to design the plan. The group faces tensions and trust issues as they align their skills toward the mission.

The plan calls for detonating two nuclear devices simultaneously in Los Angeles, the only place where the plates' movement can be halted. The goal is to drop the planet-destabilizing event in the most strategic location to avert global catastrophe.

As the clock ticks toward disaster, Los Angeles is emptied in a city-wide panic. Authorities scramble to secure the population while Beckett and his team move into position for the operation.

Beckett's teenage daughter Faith is kidnapped by a religious-fanatic pyromaniac, raising the stakes for Beckett personally. The abduction forces a race against time to save her before the world can be saved.

During the mission, Beckett forms a romantic bond with Julie, a scientist on his team. Their relationship adds emotional tension as they balance love with the collapsing city around them.

Kellaway, an antagonist on Beckett's team, resents Beckett so much he would sabotage the mission entirely. His presence foreshadows treachery and danger within the team.

Faith manages to locate a cell phone and texts Beckett with an SOS, giving him crucial information about her location and the urgency to act. The message rekindles the team's determination to rescue her.

The team learns of a deep hole that can serve as the detonation drop site, and Faith points to a subway station as the best location. They navigate the perilous route toward the subterranean shaft.

As Beckett and Julie close in on Faith, Kellaway murders the rest of the team, leaving only the pilot to complete the mission. The threat of the saboteur looms large as they press forward.

Beckett corners Kellaway in the shaft and throws him down the hole with the device. The traitor is eliminated, clearing the path for the final rescue.

The team is rescued when the pilot lands a presidential jet in the middle of the street, providing a last-minute escape route to safety. The jet departure signals the countdown to detonation and survival.

The two bombs detonate as planned, obliterating Los Angeles and halting the Earth's unstable plates just in time. Beckett, Julie, and Faith escape to safety, knowing the world has been saved.