Define Hero

Rating: 8/10 (18 February 2017)

It's odd that this movie, DEEPWATER HORIZON, arrives on DVD this week. We're in the middle of a world where the definitions of words like hero or brave are being tossed about in the most ridiculous manner. Without saying she was right or wrong, Meryl Streep just gave an impassioned speech after accepting a lifetime achievement award and used her time to speak poorly of President Elect Trump. Afterwards people in Hollywood talked about how brave she was. She was speaking in front of an audience almost all of which agreed with her in a town that felt the same. That doesn't seem brave to me.
What does seem brave are people who lay their lives on the line everyday to get the job done. What makes some of them even braver are the actions they display in situations of adversity. That's what this movie is all about.
Unless you were living in a cave from 2010 on you are well aware of the decimation of the offshore oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon off the coast of Texas that led to the largest oil spill in history. While most of us were concerned with what happened the focus of that story was on the oil spill itself and on the responsibility of the companies who owned the rig to answer for that spill. This movie takes that story to a different level and talks about the people who were on that rig.
The movie opens with Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) at home as he's about to head out to the rig for a 21 day tour. He sits with his daughter and talks about what he does for a living, helping her out with a report she has to write for school. Saying goodbye to her and his wife Felicia (Kate Hudson) he takes off for work.
We also focus on two other people in this story of what happened. The first is Andrea Fleytas (Gina Rodriguez), dealing with a car she's rebuilding before going in to work. The second is Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell), the grizzled veteran in charge of the safety for the rig. The three meet up at an air base where helicopters fly them out to the rig to get to work.
When they arrive things aren't going as planned. The construction of the rig is 40 odd days behind schedule. The team responsible for checking the concrete substructure is on their way home which upsets Harrell since he knows they didn't have time to do a full inspection of the rig. This brings about a confrontation between Harrell and the company men from BP led by Vidrine (John Malkovich). Vidrine, concerned more about the delays and the costs involved, insists that the test be run on the rig and it begin to pump drilling mud.
Harrell concedes but before he can make sure things are running smooth he is escorted to a hall below where other members from the company bestow a safety award to him and a celebration is set, cake and all. Shortly after the party begins Mike heads for his work station and Harrell heads for a shower.
When the inevitable happens, the foundation not being ready to stand up to the pressure involved, a geyser of mud, water and gas blow from the drill and disaster follows. Men are tossed about and wounded, including Mike and Harrell. It doesn't take long for things to go from bad to worse as the rig explodes and catches fire. Now it is up to the crew to do what they can to seal off the drill site and make their way off of the rig before they die.
As I said the story is well known so there is no chance of spoilers with the exception of who makes it off alive and who doesn't. Sad to say that on that day 11 crew members lost their lives. In some cases it was immediate and in others they had an opportunity to display the heroism that is real, that means something at the end of the day. The film offers a nicely placed tribute to each of these men, showing their names and pictures just before the credits roll and before the names of anyone else.
What I found unusual about the film is that with the star power involved none of the actors felt like they took center stage here. Perhaps Wahlberg could be said to do so because of the backstory involving his family and the fact his image was used to sell the movie. But all involved have a chance to bring to life this story of a tragedy on one hand and a display of bravery on the other.
The pacing of the film might be a bit slow for some but we're not being offered a thought out story here. This is real life, this really happened and the events that flowed happened in real time not made up story land. While the movie is well made with some creative special effects put to good use, I'm not sure it's a movie you'll want to watch over and over again. It brings to life what could be painful memories for some. But it does need to be seen once in order to learn what real heroism is all about. It offers that story in spades.