Visceral !!!

Simply put: The best disaster movie I've ever seen.

...and not just a disaster movie - Nope! - This is a super-combo disaster/horror/action movie extraordinaire!

Kurt Russell, say no more - he's been doing this stuff since he was a kid. Richard Dreyfuss - errr... Jaws, anyone? Josh Lucas, a low-rent, high talent Matthew McConnaughey - excels here. Emmy Rossum, the only good thing about The Phantom of the Opera - a bundle of awesome breathless cleavage, as always.

But highest kudos must go to director, Wolfgang Petersen. It's a tour de force of disaster movie direction. It os non-stop, visceral acceleration from beginning to end. I'm not kidding. This movie is the best example of a headlong plunge into overdrive that I can remember. Hold your breath - it's super intense. Of course, Petersen isn't new to high pressure underwater action having helmed Das Boot back in the day, and extended his enclosed spaces resume with the under-rated Air Force One. Here, with Poseidon, he has excelled with the thankless task of directing a summer action flick. (Can't wait to see his take on Ender's Game, the ultra-classic sci-fi novel, in 2008.) Imagine if he'd directed M:i:3!?! Wow! That woulda been a summer action flick!

But, be happy! Here's the kick-off movie of the summer of '06!

Full steam ahead...

6 out of 5.

summer is here boys. fuck the critics. the movie is awesome not too much cheese. plenty of action and definitely tons of thrills.

while this is not gonna win any oscars for anything, it certainly is a popcorn movie and it offers what it promises.

A-

I thought it was complete junk. They didn't talk much about any of the actors and there back stories. They also didn't really have much of a story. I understand they are trying to escape, but it just felt boring and flat. The CG doesn't even look that great, the water in the beginning just looks horrible. D

POSEIDEN KICKS ALL KINDS OF ASS!!!!
Okay, so against my wife's wishes, I went to see Poseiden today and holy you-know-what, what a ride. This film is seriously one of the most exhilirating, breathtaking, action-packed films I have seen in quite a while. I was shocked at how much fun I had in the film!! It started out rather nicely, introduced the characters and then WHAM!!! the wave hits. And just like that the film never slows down. There is enough action in here to keep everyone entertained and the human stories, in spite of what reviewers will tell you, are quite compelling. I just can't explain how much I enjoyed the film. I truly believe that this film will have all kinds of legs summer once people realize how much fun it is. The film's SPFX are pretty much as good as Titanic's as well and it is great to see Kurt Russell and Dreyfuss back on the big screen. This is truly a great great summer film!

10/10...yes, this is one of the best disaster flicks i have ever seen as well!!

Needless to say, I am very skeptical about remakes, I think there are only a few that have ever been good. But I do believe that Disaster flicks probably have the most to benefit from a remake. But being the Poseidon Adventure was truly my favorite of all time, I am very excited to say that this is great.

Like most of you have heard, the back story isn't really there, but that is somewhat refreshing. You are literally thrown into right away and it doesnt let up til the very end. If you think about the characters of a disaster movie, you should be there with the characters, and knowing that, you shouldn't know too much about everyone. The one thing this really has going for it is every actor is above this script, and they make it that much better. Kurt Russell is back in top form, and Josh Lucas continues to suprise. Everyone was above their merits making each character enjoyable, except that bald captain who says "Something's Off." Thankfully though that is his only line, so you forget about him quickly.

The effects were magnificent, considering the entire ship is CGI is is truly amazing. Its some of the most realistic I've ever seen, and the budget is definately there. Each set design is very well orchestrated, except maybe the lobby when its been flipped. There is little to say, accept see this movie, it is one of the better Disaster films of the decade, a good remake, and remains very thrilling. This is definitely how the summer should start. I hope this has great legs.

C. It's flat-out boring.

A-...Loved every second of it, except sometimes I would get frustrated with some of the characters. I just wish we would have got more insight about characters in beginning or seen what became of them after they were rescued.

Though I personally disagree, that is a too-cool-for-school capsule review...

Does it kick my ass?

Does your ass desire to be kicked?

Attheendofthis,myfriendaskedme"Couldithavelookedany morelikeaTVmovie?"andIdidn'tdisagreewithhim, atall.Itwasjustso..Idon'tknow,underwhelminglooking.Itlookedsofakeinsomescenes,especiallythescene withtheoilfallingintothewaterandcausingthefire.Itwasoneofthemostunimpressiveusesofbig-budgetCGII thinkI'veeverseen.Andthentheacting,dearLord.Again,itwasuptoTVmovielevelperformances.They evendiedintheirdumblittleclicheordersandways.

Ilooovvveeetheoriginal,somaybethat'swhyIhatedthis.IgiveitaD...itjustwasn'tenjoyable,didn'thave asinglesecondthatimpressedme,andreallyjustseemedlikeabigwasteofwhateverstudio'smoney.

THIS MOVIE SUCKED ASS. I have never wanted to walk out of a movie, but I felt inclined to do so with this pos. SKIP IT.

Entertaining fluff that maybe could have used more character-building. Then again, that would have slowed the pace down.

Incredible special effects and lots of good ol' entertainment, but the film is entirely too short and lacks any character development. I couldn't care less for the characters in the film, really.

But it's fun as hell.

B+

Interesting love-it-or-hate-it reactions.

This was better than your average tv movie. Come on!

It was better than The Poseidon Adventure on NBC, if that says anything.

Horrible, horrible writing, though I must say, I was pretty entertained (and the crowd was too)... mainly because a lot of the sequences are just plain laughable or some rescue/death scenes are well-directed and shot, I must admit.

Um... so Fergie sang an original song for this? The singer in the original Poseidon Adventure sang The Morning After during the party scene, which won an Academy Award. I guess they were aiming for the same result.

Had it given much more thought, Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss wouldn't be that much wasted. I told my friend that lots of shots of Mia Maestro looked like she was Jennifer Garner. Still though, it was fun for me.

B-/B

And here we have Poseidon, one of the most hysterically awful, unintentionally funny features I have seen in years. The movie has two things going for it - periodically dazzling special effects and moments where all I could do was say "what the hell?!" and giggle. Oddly, there is hardly any set-up at the beginning of the movie; it almost felt like it just started with the wave hitting the cruise liner (there isn't even set-up for the wave itself, you hear someone go "Oh my god!" and then it hits...exciting). The movie is excellent for about 5 minutes as the wave causes havoc in the boat and causes it to turn upside down (watching all the lights go out simultaneously as it is underwater is pretty breathtaking). Then, for an agonizing period of time, we watch a bunch of cardboard cut-out characters climb up things, climb across things, escape from water, hold their breath, hold their breath some more, climb up more things and get generally wet. Finally, Poseidon stumbles to a merciful end rather abruptly. Perhaps there would have been more excitement if screenwriter Mark Protosevich actually created characters that you either cared about or not wanted to shut up every time they spoke. I can only assume most of the actors in this movie participated because they thought it would be "fun" or they were in need of a paycheck - Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Jacinda Barrett, Emmy Rossum, Mike Vogel and Mia Maestro, among other cast members - seem to be doing the best they can with exceptionally cliched and dull characters. Under normal circumstances, I would probably grade this lower, but it did have good special effects and I did enjoy it in a "this is so, so, so bad" sort of way. D+

Doesnt say much heh.

I understand that some people may not enjoy this film, but to say that it's not well made is gravely mistaken. It requires a great deal of skill on the part of a director and his editor to make a kinetic roller coaster of a movie like Poseidon. Further, it takes tremendous discipline to keep character development and backstory development to a bare minimum - how many times have we seen otherwise exciting movies brought to a grinding halt by conventional boring set-ups? And then to bring this whole enterprise in at under 100 minutes running time?!? It's a well-oiled and superbly engineered machine of a movie - the perfect summer treat. (My only regret is that I didn't see it the first time in IMAX )

Earlier this year I saw another great movie - The World's Fastest Indian, and the pacing was the exact opposite - very slow and methodical, carefully examining and developing the film's central character, Burt Munro. That approach was perfect for that movie, but it would have been the death knell for Poseidon. There's a time and place for a reflective philosophical style in moviemaking - but a summer disaster flick ain't it.

So, once again, to those who felt they wasted their $$$ on this movie, I offer my heartfelt condolences. But to those who loved the visceral Poseidon thrill ride, I have only one thing to say -- Yee-Haw! Let's go around again!!!

just came back from POseidon. i had to say it was short for a Wolfgang Petersen's film. but the movie bring your tense to the highest level. 15 minutes after the opening logo. the movie gave you a non-stop pumping action and thrill. i mean NON STOP!!! the minus thing is character development but overall it's a one hell of a great ride. i liked to see every minutes of the scene contains Emmy Rossum. she is f'ckin' HOT!!! her star will shine even more in years to come. it's a A flick.

Apparently your kind was passed over in the ass kicking department.

I had the privilege of seeing Poseidon for the second time tonight (alas, still not in IMAX), and I have found an even deeper appreciation for it's brilliance within it's genre and as an overall movie experience. It is fantastic!

On second viewing, I consider the character development to be superb. Using movie shorthand, director Petersen establishes the central characters in record time, and manages to effectively develop them amidst the cascading watery storyline. I defy anyone to tell me they didn't get a kick out of at least one of each character's crisis situation evolvement.

Anyone who finds the cgi FX to be unspectacular, is clearly severely jaded, and is in real danger of losing their ability to suspend disbelief. I found the setting to be solid, despite it's pixellated origin - and it continues to build my excitement over the future of digital filmmaking.

Now, as to the bad reviews - as I have said, my condolences to those who don't find this their cup of tea. But I'd like to comment on one review in particular:

In my experience with Libs (albeit limited), I have found her to have just about as much credibility judging Action-Adventure films, as I do judging Horror films (e.g.: The Grudge - 1 out of 5; The Hills Have Eyes - 3 out of 5; House of Wax - 2 out of 5).

Worse, Libs has the bad habit of wishing films ill. Movies she doesn't personally enjoy, she often both berates those that profess to enjoy them and publicly hopes they do poorly at the box office. As much as I don't understand, appreciate, nor enjoy horror movies - I have never even imagined wishing they don't do well at the box office. And I certainly don't feel that other's enjoyment of them is a threat to my own opinion of them. The only thing Libs and I seem to accasionally agree on, is the odd RomCom...

Also, upon my second screening of Poseidon tonight, I found myself wondering whether those who had never been in an emergency situation (nor could imagine themselves in one), might not enjoy this movie as much. The portrayal of the process of quick scenario assessment and command decision making was excellent in my view - very realistic. Further, the large number of unheroic deaths was remarkable. So many movies waste time giving each insignificant character's death scene some poignancy - Poseidon took great relish in showing that most deaths occur without fanfare, amidst a great chaos, and without anyone noticing.

The dialogue was very solid, too. There are many quick lines that will be remembered once people start playing this on their DVD. Notable amongst them, was Richard Dreyfuss' exclamation upon handing the tool up to open the vent screws.

So, all in all, my review is even more strongly positive now. This is a very, very, very well done film. Anyone who's been put off by the bad reviews, I urge you to see it on the big screen for yourselves. This is a moving movie - I mean really moving - moving intensely fast...

*pokes bradley with a stick*

You're weird.