A real disaster movie!

Rating: 10/10 (31 December 2017)

Deepwater Horizon
There are some disaster movies that are straight up disasters.
Hollywood likes to feed us a steady diet of them.
Usually from the guys and gals that brought us Independence Day regurgitated or ridiculousness like Geostorm!
Here director Peter Berg has brought us a fantastic film that tells the story of a real life disaster. An explosion that occurred in 2010 on the off shore oil rig named Deepwater Horizon, which created the worst oil spill in history.
Like I said, a real life disaster.
A story that is told by firstly introducing us to real life characters that are developed before any chaos ensues.
This is masterfully done by Berg and scriptwriters Matthew Sand and co to cement the audiences care for what happens to the lives on screen.
There's no hot shot scientists here played unconvincingly by Hollywood's latest Beef cake!
Instead Mark Wahlberg proves that he can actually act when he's not too busy getting caught up in Transformers nonsense.
We also get a commanding performance from the always brilliant Kurt Russell as Mr Jimmy, the man in charge.
Peter Berg takes his time setting the movie up before events unfold.
He gives the audience a chance to learn a little about oil extraction and the pressure that is applied by multi billion dollar companies wanting their payload.
John Malkovich gives a solid performance as the BP executive named Vidrine who is applying such pressure to Russell's character.
A great performance even if Malkovich's accent seemed a little erratic at times.
When disaster does eventually strike it is incredibly staged and this movie looks and sounds fantastic.
The special effects are some of the best I've seen in recent years.
Sound design is ear shatteringly good.
If like I, you missed this movie at the cinema, please watch this on the biggest TV you can find with a good 5.1 surround sound set up.
This film deserves that much.
Deepwater Horizon is as much as an immersive experience as it is good story telling.
The Dolby Atmos sound mix is a tool wonderfully utilised.
Picture quality is top notch too with rich colours accentuating the unbearable heat caused by the devastating explosions.
I thoroughly enjoyed Deepwater Horizon and this movie is proof that when done right a disaster movie doesn't have to be a disaster.