Poseidon

This second remake of the mediocre 1972 original doesn't add anything new to proceedings. It feels very much like a 90s disaster film, and with that I conclude that it was ten years too late. The moments of near-death and immense panic; such as when the group find themselves having to fill up a section of the ship for the pressure to break open a hatch; or when the group are crawling through an air vent and the water is filling up behind them, are rushed and not handled effectively by Petersen. The physics of such a disaster seem to be an issue throughout, too. All technical departments (music, cinematography, effects) are not particularly great, but when the explosions happen, and the ship moves, or people are being flung around, it is entertaining.

Josh Lucas is not leading man material, and why he was chosen I will never know. He's like a poor man's Harrison Ford. Emmy Rossum adds beauty to the film, but not much else. As does Jacinda Barrett. Kurt Russell is Kurt Russell, as ever. His death was a surprise, and was one of the rare edge-of-your-seat moments. It's an innocent enough film, but it never captures the magnitude of the situation like earlier disaster films, such as Daylight. It all feels very generic, and everyone's a hero, it seems, which I did not warm to. None of the characters are interesting, partly because they're not given much time to establish themselves before disaster strikes, but also because the script is too afraid to deviate from the constraints of the disaster formula.

C-

Now I voted; I don't plan on seeing this film.