A dramatized documentary about the disaster on Deepwater Horizon with spectacular visual effects driven action

Rating: 9/10 (1 November 2016)

Deepwater Horizon isn't an action movie by definition. I would much rather call it a dramatized documentary of the incident.
The first half of the film despite it's lack of action is still very meaningful as it takes it's time to properly set up the characters so that when bad stuff starts to happen you can really care about them. It also does a great job building tension by showing all the necessary precautions not being taken in order to save money as oppose to avert the disaster. All of it is done through some of the most mesmerizing editing I have seen all year.
Once the inevitable disaster finally happens we are in for some of the most intense action sequences this year has to offer. I admire Peter Berg's direction of it. One wide shot of a huge explosion, a quick look at the outside world responding to the situation and after that you are looked in with our heros. What I appreciate the most about Berg's direction is the fact that at no point he ever lets the explosions outshine our heros. They are the ones that are always in the foreground, they are the ones we should care about.
Which brings me to my one small issue I have with the film, though the more I think the more I realize that it's probably just me who went into this film expecting a bit too much of an action movie then what this film actually is. So basically soon after the disaster strikes the action doesn't go on for very long, or at least I felt like it didn't. But let me emphasize again the action that I did get was nothing less of spectacular and I will gladly take quality over quantity. Once again, I don't think I have seen or will see a film this year with better visual effects, sound design and editing (maybe Rogue One).
Deepwater Horizon tells a brilliantly executed story of a struggle workers went through on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that April in 2010. A perfect follow-up to the first collaboration of "The Bergs" (Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg), Lone Survivor, which if you liked but found it somewhat disturbing at times, then Deepwater Horizon fixes all that and you nor anyone else should waste no time before seeing this film. It's one of the best of the year, period.