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"A See-Worthy Adventure" "Poseidon"
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| Voyage to the bottom of the sea! Josh Lucas, Emmy Rossum and Kurt Russell try to stay afloat in "Poseidon" |
Move over, James Cameron. There’s another filmmaker out there who loves the water, and he may even love it more than you do.
That would be Wolfgang Petersen, who – after 1981’s “Das Boot” and 2000’s “The Perfect Storm” – jumps off the deep end yet again with “Poseidon,” an exciting $175 million update of the 1972 Gene Hackman-Shelley Winters classic “The Poseidon Adventure.” Being back in familiar waters has done the German-born filmmaker some good, as he rebounds nicely from 2004’s disappointing “Troy” to give summertime moviegoers exactly what they’d expect from a 21st Century disaster epic – amazing special effects, huge sets, edge-of-your-seat thrills and, of course, one mighty big wave.
As for all that other cornball stuff – you know, character development, good dialogue and any semblance of logic – hey, its summertime folks, so who needs that? Certainly not Petersen, who keeps the film short and sweet with a running time of just 1 hour and 29 minutes (without the ending credits). And Petersen cuts right to the chase, which in this case comes in the form of an enormous 150-foot wall of water that flips the luxury liner over about 16 minutes in. Otherwise, the plot – what little of it there is – is pretty faithful to producer Irwin Allen’s original film. Then again, since that movie barely had a plot, how could it not be?
It’s New Year’s Eve, and the passengers aboard the SS Poseidon are about to celebrate the hard way. They include professional gambler Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas), nine-year-old Conor (Jimmy Bennett) and his single mother Maggie (Jacinda Barrett), former New York mayor Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell), his precocious daughter Jennifer (Emmy Rossum) and her fiancé Christian (Mike Vogel), a shy stowaway (Mia Maestro) and a suicidal gay man (Richard Dreyfuss). When disaster strikes just seconds after midnight, these former strangers have to rely on each other if they are going to escape from their sinking death trap before it gives the Titanic some company.
Back in the 70’s, Irwin Allen was the Jerry Bruckheimer of his day, earning the title “Master of Disaster” for producing entertaining spectacles that pushed the boundaries of stunts and special effects beyond anything that moviegoers had seen before. The image of a passenger dangling from a table before crashing through a light fixture is one of the iconic images from the original “Poseidon Adventure,” and of course, who can forget Allen’s incredible follow up, 1974’s “The Towering Inferno?”
But times have changed, and the prospect of watching people die in a big Hollywood movie isn’t as much fun as it used to be. As it is, the only true disaster epic to emerge from the studios since 9/11 was 2004’s “The Day After Tomorrow,” but even that came with a message (global warming is bad for you). But what makes “Poseidon” so darn entertaining is that it represents a return to the classic Hollywood disaster thriller. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. It’s a B-movie that knows it’s a B-movie – think “Titanic,” but without the sappy love story.
At the same time, make no mistake – “Poseidon” is not your daddy’s disaster flick. When the wave hits, it hits hard, and everything that isn’t nailed down is tossed around to a surprisingly violent effect. People die, and they die horribly. They fall, they get crushed, they get electrocuted and, of course, they drown. And as the survivors make their way to the bottom of the ship – which represents their only means of escape, since it’s now floating above the water – they pass by hoards of lifeless bodies at every turn.
And even though you know that the main characters will survive – at least, most of them will – Petersen tightens the screws on the intensity with each passing scene. You can’t help but hold your breath during the extended moments under water, and, perhaps borrowing from the claustrophobic fears that defined his 1981 submarine classic “Das Boot,” Petersen masterfully directs an incredibly gripping, nerve-wracking scene where the survivors try to escape from a confined air vent that’s quickly filling up with water.
As with any disaster epic, the corny dialogue is delivered at the most inopportune times, and you never get to know any of the characters, but really, what do you need to know about them anyway? Sorry, but if you’re looking for an emotionally engaging, character-driven love story, then go rent “Brokeback Mountain.” Otherwise, if you want to have fun with a big summer popcorn movie that’s packed with huge sets and non-stop thrills, then climb aboard “Poseidon.”
And if the film does really well at the box office, then who knows – maybe Wolfgang Peterson will stay in the water for his next movie too!
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© Scott Mantz - Scott's Movie Reviews
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