Charity's Place.com

POSEIDON

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: violence, thematic elements, language

Rated:

I once had a nightmare about running around on a ship that was upside-down. It wasn't a fragmented memory of having seen the original, because this is the only adaptation of the terror film I have ever seen. If you have a fear of water, are claustrophobic, or are secretly terrified of drowning, I don't think Poseidon is the movie for you.

The beautiful ship is sailing into the sunset. Thousands of people on board are celebrating the coming of the New Year. Not everyone has a happy story that has brought them here, but each will become connected to the others before the night ends. Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas) is the talented professional poker player who enjoys taking the money of rich and influential men. Richard Nelson (Richard Dreyfuss) is the architect left devastated by a romantic break-up. Maggie James (Jacinda Barrett) is the single mom attempting to take care of Conor (Jimmy Bennett) on her own. Then there's former Mayor of New York Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell). Concerned that his daughter Jennifer (Emmy Rossum) is becoming too intimate with her boyfriend Christian (Mike Vogel), his attempts to keep control of the situation only bring about hard feelings.

One minute after midnight, the ship is hit by a freak tidal wave that strikes with such force it overturns the vessel, instantly killing thousands of people and leaving another thousand stranded in the grand ballroom. Dylan isn't about to wait to be rescued and wants to find a way out. He enlists the assistance of Robert and Richard, who don't want to remain trapped inside, against the advice of the ship's captain. Maggie decides to come along with her son. They clamber out just before the watertight doors slam shut behind them, in the hope of finding Christian and Jennifer. The former is trapped in the disco room, and Jennifer convinces an illegal immigrant Elena (Mía Maestro) to help pull him free.

After freeing Christian, it becomes a race against the rising tide to find a way out of the bottom of the ship before it sinks. Two hours of pulse-pounding action scenes feature numerous horrific images as the ship overturns, floods, and ultimately kills all but five survivors. Much in the same way that Titanic gripped you with its terrifying glimpses into the tragedy of a sinking, Poseidon features a labyrinth of difficult attempts from our heroes to escape alive, but at every turn something else goes wrong. It's a dead end. The door is blocked. There's not even any assurance that they'll all make it, because their numbers start diminishing in the second half of the film. One is forced to knock another down a shaft in order to have his life saved before an elevator can crush them both. Another sacrifices himself for the others. We see many people tumble from great heights, be electrocuted, and crushed by falling machinery.

One character is shown drown; another hits their head and is knocked unconscious underwater. We fear a third might be sucked into the propellers. Hundreds of dead bodies are scattered around the innards of the ship. There's no overt religious content, but Elena crosses herself and prays several times; the cross around her neck is used to unscrew a trap door and save the others. For a disaster movie I anticipated more foul language, but only a half dozen abuses of GD taint early dialogue. A man screams out "mother--" before being crushed by a pipe. Robert makes references to fearing his daughter is having premarital sex; there's no indication that she is. She wears a low-cut shirt through most of the film, and the camera gets many looks down her blouse. Richard is gay, and mentions that his male lover left him in London. He also flirts briefly with a steward.

I was relieved that those who made it got out alive, and spent the rest of the time digging my fingernails into the arm of my theatre seat. If you enjoyed either one of the two prior film versions it's a sure bet you will love this one too. If major disasters aren't your cup of tea, the only thing this film will do is give you an adverse horror of cruise ships.