Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. I just got back from POSEIDON and I wanted to give you folks my immediate thoughts. First of all, if this review seems rushed it is not inspired by the movie I just saw (which doesn't take a moment to breath, for both good and ill), but because I am leaving tomorrow for London and I still have tons of stuff to do before I'm ready to go, including putting the final touches on announcing a brand new regular column on this site. So, I apologize if I don't hit every point that needs hitting.
I was primed to really dig on this movie. I've said before on this site that I'm a pretty heavy duty Wolfgang Petersen fan, both of his early stuff and goofy summer blockbusters. I also think Kurt Russell is a god walking amongst us sinners.
However, I walked away from tonight's screening a bit underwhelmed. Sure, there are a lot of really good set pieces. The pacing is fast fast fast. The cast is really solid. The effects were okay (some really bad CG in this flick, but some great CG and definitely great practical and stunt work as well). What was missing from the movie was a certain care-factor. There are some interesting things done with the relationships in the flick. Kurt Russell's daughter (Emmy Rossum) has a boyfriend that Kurt doesn't much like. He's proposed and they haven't told him. There's a good magnetic field type resistance there. The boys are both drawn to the girl, but opposed to each other.
However, that's really the only developed relationship in the film. There are surface bits about everybody else sure, especially Josh Lucas, but I never really felt much for them when watching the film. That is a near movie-crippler on a disaster film and it is probably what mostly contributed to me just thinking the movie was "alright" and not "really damn good!"
I honestly prefer the original Irwin Allen (who gets a shout-out in the opening credits, by the way. Probably my favorite part about the movie, seeing a summer disaster flick with "An Irwin Allen Production" listed among the opening credits) film. As cheesy as it is, as dated as it is, as straight up cornball as it is, I think the original's characters work better.
I really liked Richard Dreyfuss in this film, but I think Red Buttons did a better job as the bachelor character. He was much more sympathetic to me. I really miss the Shelley Winters/Jack Albertson old married couple angle. I think the original kid was a better actor than the kid they have in this one. I miss having the loud-mouthed, but ultimately heroic asshole Ernest Borgnine character. Without that dynamic, the drama just wasn't there when the water or fire or whatever was an immediate threat.
I don't really like that they split Gene Hackman's character in two for the remake. They made one half Josh Lucas and one half Kurt Russell, which just gave them the chance to make it a happier ending because no matter what, one of our leader characters was going to make it out.
And God help me, I prefer the hippy dippy There's Got To Be A Morning After to the clubbing American Idol contestant sounding wench they have in this one.
Some people tell me it's not fair to bring in the original film when seeing a remake. I can see their point, but I just can't watch remakes without considering the original (if I've seen them, of course) and I don't think it's fair for the production to take the name and situation, but then tell me I can't compare the film to the original film. I ran into this problem with DAWN OF THE DEAD, but with as many problems as I have with DAWN OF THE DEAD, I think it's a better movie than POSEIDON.
What I missed the most from the whole film were the quiet moments. In my interview with Wolfgang Petersen recently he said that he had made the decision in editing to cut a lot of the character work from the beginning in order to not weigh down the front of the film. The thinking was for us to get to know the characters as they were trying to escape. I really like that idea and if they had started with that idea then I think this would be a far better film. However, since it was a last minute decision there isn't enough character development through our core group's escape to make up for it. The pacing is wrong. The result is a film that feels a lot like it's just set piece after set piece after set piece. It feels hollow.
And some of these moments were oddly edited. For example, there's a moment at the beginning right before the wave hits (a beautiful image, by the way... of the wave rolling in, obscuring the beautiful full moon) with Richard Dreyfuss. His partner left him right before the trip. He's depressed. It's New Year's and he's alone. He's supposed to be contemplating suicide... actually he's supposed to be in the act of jumping over the side when he spots the wave and makes the decision to turn back and fight for the life he was about to throw away. Great idea. But in the movie instead of holding on him as he's making the decision to jump over, they quickly cut away to him awkwardly leaning over the rail. You don't get a feeling of commitment to the decision. And the way they cut it, it just looks like he's nonchalantly leaning over the rail. If there was an extra 20 seconds with this scene it would have made all the difference in the world in giving us an insight to his character.
Kurt Russell is still badass and I'd love to see him become a huge star again... the reference to him once being a fireman made me smile... He carries this movie as well as he can with half of the cool shit he's supposed to be doing being done by Josh Lucas. C'mon, Kurt! Get back with Carpenter and kick out some new badass character and movie. We wants it!
Overall, it's not an offensively bad film. It's not even an inoffensively bad movie. It's just an "alright movie," to me. although the audience seemed to really like it, applauding at the end. I might not be the definitive voice, but it's how I felt.
Gotta get packing. See some of my London brothers in the next couple of days. Got some cool shit working in Ol' Blighty, so keep your eyes on the site for that. 'Til then, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
