Dir. Wolfgang Peterson
Writ. Mark Protsevich
Act. Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfus

A remake of the 1972 Oscar ® nominated movie The Poseidon Adventure, the 2006 version is big on special effects but short on character development. Lots of big names and cool effects can't keep this film from being a snoozer, but I am guessing this movie will get nominated for its special effects, so you may want to go and see it at the movie theater.

The story revolves around 10 people who are trying to get out of a capsized ocean liner that is hit by a rogue wave. Despite the pleas of the captain, these individuals climb their way through the ship to get to the propeller room so they can get out before the ship sinks.

The reason why this movie is not as good as the original movie is because there is no development of character in this movie. In the original movie, the first 30 minutes of the film was dedicated to telling us who these people are and why we should care about them. The new version of the movie has the wave hitting the ship in the first 15 minutes. We are thrown into the disaster before we find out who these people are, so why should we care if they die? Obviously this is a big flaw in the movie that just can't be overcome.

The nice thing about this movie is that unlike the original movie, where the heroes were constantly trying to help the other people in the ship, this version basic shows the audience that the basic human instinct is survival. There are many scenes where the heroes of this movie show no compassion to the other guest of the liner. One scene that shows this feeling perfectly is when Richard Nelson, played by Richard Dreyfus (Jaws,) is nearly killed by a falling elevator but was told by Dylan Johns, played by Josh Lucas (Glory Road,) to kick of the man who was hanging on to him, keeping Dylan from pulling Richard out of the shaft. The only way Richard could live is to basically kill the man hanging on to him. That is very harsh, very non-Hollywood movie, and very cool to see in a story.

The special effects are great in the movie. Every scene that involves water is realistic and at times was nerve wracking. The only problem I have with the special effects is the opening shot of the ship in the movie. It is very hard to make sunlight look realistic and it didn't look real in that shot. However, I don't think that it will keep this movie from getting nominated for its effects.

Quick review for a quick movie, the actors all did a fine job but since I really don't know anything about them, there is no reason to mention them. If you want to see a good disaster movie, watch The Poseidon Adventure. If you want to see good special effects, watch Poseidon, but if you wait to DVD it will be ok.

Brian - the Naked Gun