Poseidon
Seen 13 May; Comcast IMAX 3D Theatre at Jordan's Furniture (Reading, MA)
* * * (out of 5)
I have to respect a film that knows its direction precisely, whether or not I agree with that direction. It is very apparent that Wolfgang Petersen set out to make a disaster film with awesome set pieces and sequences of destruction, and after that, well, what happens is what happens. His focus was clear, and in that respect, Poseidon skillfully accomplishes what it strives for, but doesn’t make an attempt to go far beyond that.
On a New Year’s Eve sailing of the mega-luxury liner Poseidon, a party is in full swing with the guests in various states of celebration. Former NYC mayor Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell), Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas) and “Lucky” Larry (Kevin Dillon) are in a snippy game of high-stakes poker; Robert’s daughter Jennifer (Emmy Rossum) is celebrating her engagement with her new fiancé, Christian (Mike Vogel); Maggie James (Jacinda Barrett) and her son Conor are enjoying the benefits of the captain’s table. Less jovial, Richard Nelson (Richard Dreyfuss) is contemplating suicide after being stood up by his partner, and stowaway Elena (Mía Maestro) is getting antsy in the crew quarters of the chef who let her on the ship. All these moods change when a ‘rogue wave’ strikes and capsizes the massive ship sending everyone into a frenzy. All the above decide they’re not ready to stay in the ballroom and wait for death, so they begin the difficult and dangerous climb up to the bottom of the ship in hopes of being rescued.
And that’s just about as much as you’ll ever learn about the characters in Poseidon. There are no surprises, no revelations or advancements of character. After the first twenty minutes, it is simply a race against time with a couple of different character types, and the audience placing bets about who will survive and who will not.
Read the rest at HBS!
* * * (out of 5)
I have to respect a film that knows its direction precisely, whether or not I agree with that direction. It is very apparent that Wolfgang Petersen set out to make a disaster film with awesome set pieces and sequences of destruction, and after that, well, what happens is what happens. His focus was clear, and in that respect, Poseidon skillfully accomplishes what it strives for, but doesn’t make an attempt to go far beyond that.
On a New Year’s Eve sailing of the mega-luxury liner Poseidon, a party is in full swing with the guests in various states of celebration. Former NYC mayor Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell), Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas) and “Lucky” Larry (Kevin Dillon) are in a snippy game of high-stakes poker; Robert’s daughter Jennifer (Emmy Rossum) is celebrating her engagement with her new fiancé, Christian (Mike Vogel); Maggie James (Jacinda Barrett) and her son Conor are enjoying the benefits of the captain’s table. Less jovial, Richard Nelson (Richard Dreyfuss) is contemplating suicide after being stood up by his partner, and stowaway Elena (Mía Maestro) is getting antsy in the crew quarters of the chef who let her on the ship. All these moods change when a ‘rogue wave’ strikes and capsizes the massive ship sending everyone into a frenzy. All the above decide they’re not ready to stay in the ballroom and wait for death, so they begin the difficult and dangerous climb up to the bottom of the ship in hopes of being rescued.
And that’s just about as much as you’ll ever learn about the characters in Poseidon. There are no surprises, no revelations or advancements of character. After the first twenty minutes, it is simply a race against time with a couple of different character types, and the audience placing bets about who will survive and who will not.
Read the rest at HBS!
posted by Matt S. at
3:48 PM
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