Poseidon Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)May 14th, 2006
Characters Swim but "Poseidon" Sinks
by Homer Yen
(c) 2006
Well, what can you really say about a
by-the-numbers action flick such as "Poseidon"?
It does everything it's supposed to do, just like
a frozen Weight Watchers TV dinner. It's got
various items that make up a complete meal. It
looks presentable. And it serves up hot in a
short amount of time.
"Poseidon" has to sail through some tough waters
to win the audience over. With the
always-increasing improvement of CGI effects, the "wow" factor seems to diminish with each passing blockbuster release. After watching special
effects masterpieces like "The Lord of the Rings"
and even "King Kong", grand effects are becoming
the rule and not the exception. Yet, it's still undeniably fun watching a rogue wave capsize a
large passenger ocean liner.
Disaster movies, of course, are not really about
the disasters. It's really about the band of survivors that are thrown together and work
together to find a way to survive. Although a
great amount of people survive the initial throe
of the wave, only a handful of them decide to
take it upon themselves to seek higher ground.
They include professional poker player Dylan
(Josh Lucas), heroic firefighter Robert (Kurt Russell), his daughter Jennifer (Emmy Rossum) who
is in tow with her fiancé Christian (Mike Vogel), narcissistic Larry (Kevin Dillon), gay archetict Richard (Richard Dreyfuss), cute stowaway Elena
(Mia Maestro), and a mother and son (Jacinda
Barrett and Jimmy Bennett).
Boats don't probably stay afloat too long when
upside down. And, there desperate plan involves journeying towards the bottom of the boat (which
means climbing upwards) so that they hopefully
escape through the propeller shaft. There trek
is interrupted by all sorts of hazards that they
must negotiate. This includes raging fires,
blocked passages, gas leaks, and of course, the
rising water.
I think that part of my reservation was the fact
that there wasn't too much opportunity for
character development. There are two unique
points that the film could've taken advantage of.
One involved the gay architect who could've
spoken more about his views or about his
reflection on his life. His character had more possibilities. Another involved Dylan, who early
on encourages a life and death decision that you
never see from leaders. Also, rising water
doesn't make the best enemy. Maybe an alien or
two running amuck would've heightened the
suspense.
The good news is that there won't be a sequel.
But, if they try to do something like this again,
I have a better idea. Let's stock the ship with
the likes of Jason Bourne and Ethan Hunt and
James Bond and other adventurers. And then for
fun, add in Mr. Bean. Watch the egos fly. Now,
that would be interesting.
Grade: C+
S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
