Poseidon
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Directed By: Wolfgang Petersen Based On The Novel By: Paul Gallico Written By: Mark Protosevich Cast: Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, Richard Dreyfuss, Jacinda Barrett, Emmy Rossum, Mike Vogel, Mía Maestro, Jimmy Bennett, Andre Braugher Rated: PG-13 for intense prolonged sequences of disaster and peril. Runtime: 99 min Released By: Warner Bros. Pictures Release Date: May 12th, 2006 |
Only two people could have brought this remake to life, or should I say rightfully qualified to make this movie. Those two would be director Wolfgang Petersen or James Cameron and while the latter is off doing who knows what as of late Warner Bros. chose Petersen to helm the picture. This type of movie is second nature to him by now and he knows exactly what to do to make this a good summer popcorn movie. By filling the ensemble cast with both veterans and up-and-coming actors he is able to provide us with characters that we generally care about even though they lack any depth at all, but it works because this movie is tightly paced and keeps the threat of death lingering over all of the characters heads so that at any minute one could parish. All the elements are present for a great summer blockbuster and one enjoyable adventure.
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The movie begins by quickly introducing us to the ensemble cast and giving us minimal information about them (throughout the movie some tidbits are further given about the characters but nothing dramatic) who are all on this New Year’s Eve cruise. Ten minutes into the movie the rogue tidal wave that is completely unpredictable collides with Poseidon, a luxurious cruise liner that like the Titanic thinks it is the greatest ship to ever enter the water. The ship capsizes and all hell breaks loose on the ship for the survivors. Against the will of the captain, Dylan Jones (Josh Lucas; Glory Road, Stealth) and Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell; Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story, Sky High) lead a group of survivors towards the propellers that are the only exit on the bottom of the ship.
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As the group gets deeper and deeper into the ship their lives are put in more and more danger. At no time are any of them safe and the threat of drowning is always there along with the other risks that are associated with a capsized ship that is completely unstable. They are forced to make choices that result in sacrifices of members of the group and face fears that they have to allow them to survive. No one ever said it was fair who gets to live and die but some times you have to make a choice that may result in your death but let others survive and this is a constant theme among the characters are they fight to survive.
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As stated earlier, this movie is an ensemble cast that
is brought to life by the actors and actresses beautifully even though we
are given little depth to any of them. The cast ranges from
Richard Dreyfuss (The American
President, Mr. Holland’s Opus) playing Richard Nelson a gay architect whose
partner left him to Emmy Rossum (The Phantom of the Opera, The Day After
Tomorrow) playing Robert’s daughter, Jennifer, who wants more freedom from
her overbearing ex-mayor/fire fighter of New York City father. Jacinda
Barrett (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Ladder
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Wolfgang Petersen (Troy, The Perfect Storm) knows exactly what he is doing in this movie. It could have easily been dramatized up like James Cameron did with Titanic, but that is not what this movie was going for. This movie is purely about surviving a disastrous situation and with the fact that the disaster comes in the first ten minutes of the movie you know exactly what you are in for. All the interior shots during the capsizing of Poseidon are beautifully shot and violent as one would expect had this situation actually occurred. The exterior shots are sometimes a bit too smooth due to the use of CG, but that is only a small harp on my part. The screenplay by Mark Protosevich (The Cell), who adapted it from the novel by Paul Gallico, provides appropriate dialogue so that the characters are not just shouting out cheese ball lines and we can actually care about them. The story takes the group into more and more mortal danger with every room they enter as they get closer and closer to the propellers. At no time, besides the child cliché, do they fall victim to the numerous clichés of the genre. The main characters do not fall in love or anything to that extent, but instead you have a group of people who under heightened stress have chosen to band together to survive and this is welcomed to see. As they all put their lives on the line for each other who they really know nothing about we are able to see human nature in its most primal form.
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Petersen and Protosevich keep the pace quick and tight and take no time to slow-down for those intimate moments, which enables them to keep the suspense high. This movie could have easily been bogged down by any number of things that ruined the last disaster flick, The Day After Tomorrow, but instead it passes on the drama and holds tightly in the action/survival/disaster genre. They are also able to make drowning an actual threat and not make it look like everyone is Aquaman and at any time any of the characters could drown even though they are able to hold their breathes for a bit longer than the average person could. If you are looking for a suspenseful disaster movie that passes on the drama and requires little thinking and just your attention for one enjoyable ride Poseidon is the movie for you. This movie also takes full advantage of the IMAX format and I highly recommend a viewing of it there.
Reviewed on 5/14/06. © 2006 by Love Goat Films