Poseidon

[DotTheEyes]

TRAILER: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/poseidon/trailer2/

At first, I wasn't too enthusiastic about seeing one of my favorite disaster films, the cornball, but oh-so fun The Poseidon Adventure, being remade, but I am beginning to come around to the idea, perhaps because of the impressive cast and thrilling trailer. The film, directed by Wolfgang Petersen (Troy, The Perfect Storm, Das Boot), stars three people: A-listers Kurt Russell (glad to see him in this type of film again!) and Richard Dreyfuss, plus up-and-comer Josh Lucas, who starred in last year's Stealth and had supporting roles in Hulk and Sweet Home Alabama. It seems to re-imagine the old ship-turned-upside-down concept with incredible new special effects technology.

I may go and see this in theatres. I'm not dying to see it and it's not top priority over M:I:III, Da Vinci Code, and X-Men: The Last Stand. However, this should be a fun summer action-thriller and, who knows?, maybe it'll improve upon the guilty pleasure original?

 

[DotTheEyes]

Anyone seeing this over the weekend?

 

[DotTheEyes]

I saw Poseidon last night. In a word: Disappointing! Wolfgang Petersen, the acclaimed director of Das Boot, The Perfect Storm, and Troy, drops the ball here. It's a dull, formulaic disaster film. The first (very dry) ten minutes are dedicated to introducing the characters. The details, however, are so minute they hardly matter. Kurt Russell's character used to be the mayor of NYC! Josh Lucas' character is a charming, hard-bitten professional gambler! Richard Dreyfuss' character is depressed... and gay! Then the rogue wave scene plays out. Despite dazzling special effects, it underwhelms. There's no atmospheric, intense build-up. It simply hits and does what it does, then ends.

Post-rogue wave, the film becomes a by-the-numbers snore. Scene after scene, we follow the flat characters as they climb through flooded rooms, passing small fires and bloodless dead bodies. Their dialogue is contrived and the inevitable death scenes are manipulative and corny. Finally, it reaches the ending -- a lame anti-climax which aims to be powerful and cathartic, but ends up being forgettable and obvious.

The Poseidon Adventure wasn't a great film, but it was a campy good ride. This new version, however, is a borderline-disaster. Dull and lethargic crap. Not recommended.

 

[DotTheEyes]

Poseidon comes out on DVD this Tuesday, so I thought I'd bump this thread up to warn people: be wary of it. What a disappointment!

 

[Somdmommy]

Poseidon comes out on DVD this Tuesday, so I thought I'd bump this thread up to warn people: be wary of it. What a disappointment!

Thanks, I'll wait till its in the $9.99 bin!

 

[vraiblonde]

I saw Poseidon last night. In a word: Disappointing!

Sorry to hear that - the original is one of my favorites. When Stella Stevens is swimming, you see a little trail of bubbles escape from her rump, prompting my daughters to nickname her "the Fart Lady".

 

[Somdmommy]

Sorry to hear that - the original is one of my favorites. When Stella Stevens is swimming, you see a little trail of bubbles escape from her rump, prompting my daughters to nickname her "the Fart Lady".

I'll have to remember to look for that next time I see the original!

 

[DotTheEyes]

This new one is missing the energy of the original, which was such a fun, exuberant ride. And all the fancy special effects in the world can't compensate. What was a scary, funny disaster movie is now about as fun as watching another person play a video game.