Link to the Official site

My TV & Movie Review's

This move starts well with some really impressive photography and special effects, it also sets the scene quiet well, loads of posh people on a cruise liner in the run up to 12 midnight on New years eve. Then disaster strikes and a shockingly big wave catches the ship a broadside and turns it over……

Does that sound familiar? Well yes it should it’s a remake of that movie from 1972 of a similar name. A remake wasn't really necessary as the first time around it was done very well and even won a few Oscars. I reckon if it was a winner the first time around then let sleeping dogs lie, because then the only way is down. This movie follows the usual Hollywood block buster remake recipe. It goes thus take a winning formula/movie, make lots of key references to the original, tweak the story add some contemporary stars and CGI the hell out of it. Result bum’s on seats with less advertising, as people are curious to see a new take on the old movie. I suppose venture capital is easier to raise as well

That said this movie isn't completely terrible as long as you watch it only once, second time around it fails a rather more. Anyway here goes

Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell) has a few issues. He once achieved hero status as a New York firefighter the public liked him. So he gained enough support to became mayor of New York City. But being a hero didn't qualify him to be mayor, he stuffed it up and eventually lost that job.

Clearly he made a bob or two as mayor (they all seem to don't they) and now has little more to do than be the father from hell to his daughter Jennifer, disapproving of boyfriends and such like. They take a cruse on the Poseidon and then the aforementioned disaster happens.

The story goes into brief detail on the various other cast members you have Elena Gonzalez (Mia Maestro) she is a stowaway for some reason or other. Richard Nelson (Richard Dreyfuss) his lover and companion has left him for someone else and he’s finding it hard to come to terms with. There are naturally a few other characters, less worthy of mention.

The boat tips over, oddly it doesn't sink and for some reason all the windows don’t break at least not immediately and there is a bubble of trapped air. There’s a lot of carnage, falling lifts exploding lights, people stuck in high places etc. There are quite a few live people in the bubble a lot of bodies. So the epic struggle begins climbing from the top of the ship to the bottom (it is upside down after all).

As they clamber through the ship they meet a lot more dead bodies and find the odd survivor who tag along. Tag a longer’s are very useful in a movie like this. After all you can’t really kill off your main cast having spent time building them up, at least not in the first 30 minutes, so the hangers on get too fall down shafts and be blown up etc.

Anyway their journey continues to the top I mean bottom………

I think the problem with this movie is that you/I don’t actually like any of the characters, to enjoy a story you need to empathize a bit with the characters and have at least a passing interest in whether they live or die. This one failed for me right there. The CGI stuff is great and WOW what a wave, it certainly got the message across that “this spells trouble” and the action scenes are really very well done. You must detach your reasoning a bit but that’s what actions movies are about. The original did the story line a lot better though and even that was somewhat thin.

So do watch it once if there’s nothing else to rent in the video shop or you can see it on free to air TV. But once done don’t bother to going their again.