Overdue movie, solid execution

Rating: 6/10 (4 April 2017)

"Deepwater Horizon" is an American film from 2016 that is actually based on an article and was directed by Peter Berg. Berg has worked with Mark Wahlberg on other occasions as well, so it is not really a surprise the two reunited for this one here. The film managed (a bit surprisingly if I remember correctly) two Academy Award nominations in the technical categories, but lost out to "The Jungle Book" and "Arrival". It runs for 107 minutes, but admittedly this includes almost 15 minutes of credits at the end, so the real runtime is just slightly over 1.5 hours basically and nowhere near Wahlberg's longest works. The title already gives away a crucial reference to the subject here, namely the oil rig catastrophe from April 2010, roughly seven years ago now. This is definitely a subject that deserves its own movie to let more people know about it, also for future generations in the next decades. The execution was okay overall. I agree that there are moments when the film becomes a bit generic and feels like it could have been about any other catastrophe too, but as a whole, it's still a solid movie.
The film depicts the time directly before the catastrophe and shortly afterward. There is no emphasis on the massive environmental damage that was done. The first 60% of the film, i.e. everything before disaster strikes, were probably better because afterward it develops into a bit of a generic action film really, even if these later sequences probably resulted in the Oscar nominations. Then again, the first half has John Malkovich (and Kurt Russell), so naturally it is the superior part of the film. Wahlberg is okay as well, but sadly his character is a tad too perfect once again as he sees through the problems, is not scared of authority (i.e. Malkovich) and just turns into that huge savior at the end. But he is still a million times better than Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez in here, even if it is not really her fault as her character was completely insignificant and pointless the way it was written and probably only included to have any females in here at all. Then again, Oscar nominee Kate Hudson would have been enough as she does a pretty solid job too with the little she was given. She is the connection between Wahlberg's professional and family life in here and even if she is seen only on a webcam except very early and very late, she still manages to be 10 times as memorable as Rodriguez. All in all, the film is probably not as good as it could have been, but overall the focus was right and it's a good thing that it was made. I give "Deepwater Horizon" a thumbs-up and recommend it particularly to those with an interest in the subject or those who like fact-based action films or just those who like Mark Wahlberg and/or the supporting players. If neither description fits you, you can skip it.