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Poseidon By Harry Forbes Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- "You feel that? Something's off," someone says on the bridge, just before the luxury liner Poseidon hits a gigantic wall of water described as a "rogue" wave, and flips completely over. The same might be said for "Poseidon" (Warner Bros.), a reasonably effective but inferior remake of 1972's fondly remembered, and already remade for television, disaster film, "The Poseidon Adventure." This time those in peril include estranged father Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell), a former fireman and ex-mayor of New York, no less, rebellious daughter Jennifer (Emmy Rossum) and her nice-guy boyfriend, Christian (Mike Vogel). There's professional gambler Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas), the anti-hero who rises to the occasion when he must. There's Richard Nelson (Richard Dreyfuss), who's apparently gay because, of course, he wears an earring, and later is suicidal over a guy who ditched him back home. There's widowed mother Maggie (Jacinda Barrett) and young son Conor (Jimmy Bennett), whom Dylan takes under his wing. And there's Latina stowaway Elena (Mia Maestro) -- the one somewhat religious character (well, she wears a cross, and prays as she walks among the deceased) -- and waiter-protector Valentin (Freddy Rodriguez from "Six Feel Under"). All of them spend the 90 or so minutes of the film attempting to flee the upside-down boat. The character delineation is dispatched within minutes, followed by a succession of narrow escapes as the intrepid survivors make treacherous crossings and underwater missions, and administer impromptu CPR, along with much running, crawling and swimming for their lives. They don't all make it, though in almost every instance you'll predict who will meet a soggy demise. Apart from a little off-color language, most of it uttered in the considerable intensity of the situation, there's really nothing objectionable about the film at all. Director Wolfgang Petersen, who knows a thing or two about nautical mayhem (for example, "The Perfect Storm," "Das Boot"), keeps the action going, with the special effects probably an improvement over those in the original. The overall production design, however, looks a little chintzy. Mark Protosevich's script, with plenty of cliched dialogue -- "We've got ourselves a situation," "It's our only chance," "I need to hear that you love me," "Start swimming" -- gives unintentional laughs par for the course with this genre, but it holds your attention. Though the characters are fairly one-dimensional, the cast equips themselves well, with Lucas and Russell sharing heroism honors. The three women tend to blur during the quickly edited action sequences, but that's a minor carp. "Poseidon" is far from a great film, but it's got enough escapist value to keep it afloat. This film contains a few instances of profanity and crass expressions, intense but not gruesome disaster violence, a brief veiled sexual exchange, gambling and a suicide attempt. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. - - - Forbes is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. END Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
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