Weak characters are all that let it down

Rating: 7/10 (9 October 2016)

'Deepwater Horizon' has a very patient first half. It takes a lot of time to familiarise its audience with the characters and also the basics of the oil rig, in particular the things that are going to be important later on. Then all hell breaks loose. Once the action begins, it never stops. The only problem with all of this is that despite all the time taken at the start to attempt to make us, I never cared enough about the characters. Now this is all based on a true story that is very fresh in all our memories. And admittedly being a true story does bring things closer to the heart and brings out more emotion in the audience naturally. I still don't think the actors and writers did a good enough job though of dragging us in and making us care. 2015's 'Everest', one of the finest 'disaster' movies I've ever seen, was also based on a true story, but would have worked equally well had it not been, because the characters were so strong. That's really the only thing letting 'Deepwater Horizon' down.
The scenes involving the actual disaster are extremely well directed. There are some impressive visuals and never a dull moment. Just how terrifying being a part of the event in real life is well illustrated and really brings home just how awful this was. There's really not a lot else to say about this film. It's tidily made and an enjoyable watch, but I don't think it will stick in my mind like 'Everest' managed to.