Dear BP screw you Love Peter Berg and co.

Rating: 8/10 (6 October 2016)

What do you do when you are in some really deep water, not just in the metaphorical sense but in the literal sense as well? Director Peter Berg and Actor/Producer Marky Mark Walhberg bring us the answer as they adapt the story of Mike Williamson and crew aboard the BP owned, Deepwater Horizon oil rig on the day it exploded and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history. This disaster movie brings both the action and emotion of the event brilliantly and it is safe to say Berg has bested his other ocean adventure film Battleship by a mile with this true story.
The action packed portion of the movie was excellently executed. The action isn't only good because of the relentlessness of the event but mainly due to the emotion embedded within it. This also is down to the film building to the incident by building on characters so you actually care about them when the mud starts to rise. The emotion behind the action is what makes the film great and to me a specific moment that stood out was the man who died moving the crane, we do not know his name but we know he's one of the 11 casualties of the event.
Peter Bergs direction of this film was simple but effective. The event is built to and happens, but the way that Berg is able to embed emotion within the action really stands out as it constantly reminds us that these are real people and this event (although dramatised) actually happened.
The acting all round was great. Mark Walhberg does good this time especially at the end on the hotel floor. Kurt Russell and John Malkovich made perfect enemies, Russell's performance as the extremely competent and passionate Jimmy Harrell is easy to get behind, and equally Malcovichs power abusing and corner cutting Vidrine is a character you easily come to hate. These two characters stand out as the best as their rivalry is massively entertaining to watch.
The only real issue I have with this film is one of Bergs directing staples. Berg ruins the ending of his biopic films in the opening scene. In Lone Survivor the opening scene is the ending and also the marketing of star Mark Walhberg in a film and the title spoil the events of the film before even watching it. In this film the film opens with audio from the real life court hearing and through the mention of names you know who survives the event. I do understand this is a true story and so the ending has already been written by life itself, but for those who don't know who Mike Willaimson is or who have forgotten it (which would be the majority of people) would bring more tension if they are left unaware of the characters fate.
Overall, Deepwater Horizon is an explosive and emotive disaster movie with great acting and direction despite the opening audio. Berg and Walhberg are becoming a pretty good film making duo and look forward to their next collaboration. I highly recommend this movie so if you love disaster movies and hate BP then you are in for a treat.