In a world where up is down, down is up, and everyone is wet...can a remake actually entertain?
Josh Lucas - Dylan Johns
Kurt Russell - Robert Ramsey
Jacinda Barrett - Maggie James
Richard Dreyfuss - Richard Nelson
Jimmy Bennett - Conor James
Emmy Rossum - Jennifer Ramsey
Mike Vogel - Christian
Mía Maestr - Elena Gonzalez
Andre Braugher - Captain Michael Bradford
Kevin Dillon - Lucky Larry
Freddy Rodríguez - Marco Valentin
If the actors can make us care about their characters, this could be the best flick of the summer.
That's what I said in the May roundtable about the new Poseidon movie. That's some serious hype on my part for a pretty good-looking summer. But let's face it, if there was a big-budget this summer that does get a little wiggle room, it's not X-3, The Da Vinci Code, or Superman Returns. I got the feeling that the expectations for this flick, a remake of the 1972 Poseidon Adventure, were pretty low for most "experts." Still, I remained excited for this flick.
For those who didn't know, the movie revolves around a small group of people in an upside down and sinking luxury cruise ship trying to make their way to the bottom of the ship while the rest of the survivors wait to die in the ballroom. Of course, the bottom of the ship is the top of the ship now. They may have taken the ‘Adventure' out of the title, but they can't take the ‘Adventure' out of risking your life to save your life!
The good news is there is almost no waiting to get down to the nitty gritty. The wave hits early, and the disaster itself is great eye-candy for people who like what I call the "It Sucks to be You" moments that show up in every disaster flick. Extras are killed off in breathtaking ways, boys and girls. From there the action is almost non-stop as the people we're supposed to care about make their way up. Or, um, down. As it were.
So who makes up this group? Generic character role call!
Single mom! (Jasinda Barrett)
Curious scamp of a child! (Jimmy Bennett)
Stowaway! (Mía Maestr)
Drunken woman-degrading jerk with a bad moustache! (Kevin Dillon)
Guy who knows the layout of the boat! (Freddy Rodríguez)
Young couple in love! An eager-to-please guy and feisty girl! (Mike Vogel and Emmy Rossum)
Dad of the young girl in love! Bonus! He's also a disgraced mayor! (Kurt Russell)
Lonely dumped guy! (Richard Dreyfsus)
Our reluctant loner rougue hero! (Josh Lucas)
Believe it or not, I actually support the use of the generic characters here. We didn't have time to meet them, so give us the archetypes and let us learn to care about them on their way through the boat. And you know what? They do. I'm not guaranteeing that you'll be making deals with God to get those poor souls to the top, er, bottom of the boat. I am saying that you will care about the characters just enough so that the tense scenes will have you sucked in.
It's just that when those moments are over, you don't care anymore until the next tense moment. So in that respect, Poseidon is an uneven movie. Remember that I said the action is almost non-stop. The stops in the action are filled with strange attempts at humorous asides and awkward attempts at character moments. All of these are entirely forgivable in the long run because the action and the tension both deliver.
It probably won't be the best movie of the summer, after all. However, it is a fun popcorn flick. Catch a matinee if you can, it's worth every bit of a reduced price movie ticket.
This review completely sidestepped making a joke about Fergie wetting her pants. Thank me later.
The 411: The action delevers even when the chacater moments don't, and the actors own their parts enough to make you buy into the danger. It's the epitome of the summer action thriller, so if that's your thing then you should definitely check this out.
