Poseidon (2006)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2006
	Director: Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, The Neverending Story, Air Force One)
	Actors: Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Always), Kurt Russell (Big Trouble in Little China, The Hateful Eight), Emmy Rossum (The Day after Tomorrow)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama, Action
	Conditions of visioning: 27.04.2019, VOD, 42" TV screen
Synopsis: When the cruiser Poseidon is hit by a giant wave that capsizes it, Robert Ramsey (Russell) will go search for his daughter Jennifer (Rossum) and a way out, accompanied by other survivors.
Review: This is the remake of the classic 1972 disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure that I watched many times as a kid. I finally watched it to see how bad it could be, and to see a movie with Kurt Russell made in the period between his Action-hero fame of the 80's and his recent comeback. The story is exactly the same but with more action and bravery. However the one-sided characters that were fitting in the 70's (a hero, a coward, a family, a daughter/bimbo that obviously had to be in a revealing party dress...) feel out-of place in that remake. Before even that, I found the disaster to occur too early without any warning and not enough time to introduce the character and build any kind of attachment to them. Also the reactions of everybody are expedited: "OK the boat is upside-down, let's keep calm and wait for rescue". The situation is (very) quickly accepted by everybody and they move on. Often the special effects look cheap especially when there is fire and explosions. The movie plays too often the easy trick of having the audience hold their breath (literally) when the characters do. In the end the movie is passable and it took me two attempts to watch it in full. Maybe disaster movies were not supposed to be made after the 70's (so bad was the recently reviewed Aftershock), except if you up the scale and add extraordinary elements (Knowing) or go full over-the-top and don't treat your subject seriously (The Day after Tomorrow, San Andreas).
Rating: 3 /10