Poseidon Review

Poseidon (2006)

While ringing in the new year aboard the cruise ship, Poseidon, a giant wave crashes into the ship and flips it upside down. A group of survivors realize their only chance is to make their way to the deepest bowels of the ship, now at the top, if they are going to have any chance of getting out.

There were three major complaints that I had: First, The wave came too soon and there wasn't enough build-up and. Secondly, The Poseidon Adventure succeeded because of its stellar cast, big name actors in a big budget disaster flick, whereas the actors in Poseidon, few people knew, thus some kind of celebrity glamour was missing. Thirdly, the ending was that of The Poseidon Adventure, but I still did not like it. It was abrupt and leaves you somewhat hanging.

There's Kurt Russell, who everyone kind of knows since he's been acting since childhood, and Richard Dreyfuss, who everyone probably knows if they've ever given a passing thought to UFOs and who I recently saw in his first acting role, The Graduate, and Kevin Dillon, who I recognize from HBO's Entourage, and Emmy Rossum, who sang her heart out to the Phantom of the Opera, and Freddy Rodríguez of Six Feet Under.

But the true star is The Rogue Wave, right? What we should most likely commend is how Peterson maintained our interest thereafter, which he actually does; with her beauty.

Dreyfus is incidentally gay, which is really neither here nor there with regard to the plot other than to give him some sparkly earrings and a few lines of dialogue about being left behind for another man, which amounts to absolutely nothing in the face of The Rouge Wave eager to make her entrance. Dreyfus, as Richard Nelson, is obviously the character channeling Shelley Winters since, like her, he gets stuck in a tight place. But as awe-inspiring as The Rogue Wave is in Poseidon, I really miss the humor of The Poseidon Adventure.

Given the following, the original film has, not to mention the daring originality of the premise and Ronald Neame's (The Poseidon Adventure) final result, it seems to me Wolfgang Petersen should have put a little more effort into this remake. We all know he can make great and effective films - Das Boot, The Perfect Storm - but this one came off as if he relied on the special effects to carry this film. True, we can't expect each film to be an Oscar contender. However, is is too much to ask for a good script, more-than-scant character development, and a solid story? And I'm almost embarrassed for Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss, who are such competent actors!

7 out of 10 stars.