Poseidon (2006)

Director

• Wolfgang Petersen

Starring

• Josh Lucas
• Kurt Russell
• Jacinda Barrett
• Richard Dreyfuss
• Emmy Rossum

Last On

23:20-01:15 Sun 30th Jun 2019 90m
5*

Synopsis

After the success of second-generation disaster movies from Titanic to The Day after Tomorrow, you can't blame Warner Bros for remaking 1972's The Poseidon Adventure, which kick-started the first cycle in high style. But much has changed. The original, about an ocean liner capsized by a wave and a band of survivors clawing their way up to the hull, cost $5 million and relied on huge sets and big stars. Wolfgang Peterson's refit - same set-up, seasonally adjusted characters, higher body count - cost $150 million, relying on CGI and middling stars. Around 20 minutes shorter, it dispenses with character, asset-strips the plot and flips the ship without delay or backstory; furnishing a succession of exciting, waterlogged set pieces, but lacking any substance. This is made worse by mechanical, often laughable dialogue ("I'm an architect"; "I used to be a firefighter"). Little more than a state-of-the-art thrill ride, this actually reveals greater depths to the original.