Poseidon

A boat named Poseidon is cruising the ocean's waves. It's New Years Eve, and a party is booming in the main hall. And then, uh oh! Look out; a huge tidal wave smashes into the side. The boat flips over, and we've now got a bad situation on our hands.

This is Wolfgang Petersen's rendition of the 1972 hit The Poseidon Adventures. Usually with remakes, I try to avoid them at all costs, but for some reason, I took a chance--and what ho! Twas a decent film!

Though I had not seen the original in full, there were some similarities that the director decided to keep in. The setup was similar, several characters identify with each other near the beginning of the film. And when the wave hits, it's these people that band together to attempt to escape.

The one problem with this type of film is that it's Titanic all over. The difference is, we focus on a small group of people...hmmm, and that also seems to be the same. But trust me, this was no Leonardo film.

A small band of people breaks away in attempt to climb to the bottom most part of the boat. They are headed for the propellers, the only way out!

But what sets this apart from most action films: the characters. You've got the father and daughter. You've got the daughter and newly announced fiance (awe) You've got the gay old man (Richard Dreyfuss) you've got the hero (Josh Lucas) the religious sexy middle aged woman (Mia Maestro) and then you've got the mother and little son. That's the band that must escape. Oh... there was a witty drunk, but he doesn't last too long.

It's the characters that make this film work. Without any attempt to show their emotions, this film would have sunk just like the boat. The only problem with this: predictability. Who lives, and who dies. Unfortunately, they chose to go the way of cliche. Go and see it for yourself, as I don't want to tell you here. But the director and the writers did give an effort to show their connection to each other through this horrible event. What does a father do when his only daughter is trapped? What does a mother do when a son is trapped and drowning? What do you do when the only man you care about doesn't care about you?

This 99 minute action film entertains. And that's just what I was looking for. No heavy love story, no drowning Leonardo, No savvy British sailors making comments about being calm. It was chaos. There was death. People are laying everywhere. And that's what happens! A huge ocean liner flips over and starts to sink. Most people are going to die. And how!

And the visual effects don't let down. Though there are times where CG just takes over, I didn't even mind it. And instead of computer designing water, they just went with the millions of gallons of water to pour on these actors. A good decision. Makes things more real. Visually, it was a very solid film.

A summer action film, not blockbuster, but entertaining. I didn't leave the film wanting to cry. And I didn't leave wondering what happened. The boat sank, and people survived the horror. Just what I wanted from that film.

6 of 10 Nothing to do on a weekend? Go watch a boat sink! It's neat.