Review of Particle Fever (2013) by Devin M — 31 Oct 2014

Documentary chronicling the story of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and its successful discovery of the Higgs boson particle; mostly engaging yet somewhat sparse in truly meaningful content.

The movie covers some of the basic ideas of the particle physics behind the search for the so-called God particle in laymen's terms along with an overview of the impressive hardware needed to detect it. Most of the movie consists of interviews with different people associated with the experiment in which we learn about particle physics and its relationship to those involved in the experiment.

I felt that the main purpose of this film was to educate and generate interest among the general public for the field of physics and the LHC itself. On this front, I believe that it mostly succeeded; however, the full package suffered from a lack of real content to discuss as well as the occasional air of pretentiousness or awkwardness that detracted from the otherwise entertaining mood. The main point that is presented is the discovery of the Higgs boson along with some experimental and theoretical background behind it. There really isn't a whole lot of substantial content, though, and at the end, I felt that there wasn't enough to the movie to make it as awe-inspiring as it could have been.

On the whole, I was satisfied by this movie, but I felt like it could have been a lot more, considering the grand scope that the field of particle physics deals with. There is plenty to discuss about the LHC, but there is a delicate balance between dumbing it down to the point of inanity and making it too technical for enjoyment that I felt this film did not properly strike.