Slow to start, but grows into a great action-disaster flick

Rating: 9/10 (29 January 2016)

This movie approaches perfection in disaster films. The acting was superb, the special effects amazing and the story unbelievable - but true. My heart was in my throat - and I already knew the whole story from earlier research of the true-life incident - who lives and who dies. They actually skipped some elements of the day's work for the Coast Guard, probably because no one would believe it.
The only weakness I saw with the movie was that it was a bit slow in the start, too much romance in the beginning and not enough exploration of our four Coast Guard heroes. We only really meet and get to know Webber (Chris Pine), and it spends too much time exploring his romance. The movie makers attempted to shove some strong female characters into the story - beyond a brief introduction to establish Webber's motivations and history, they really didn't belong in the story.
But in the end it was worth it because the scenes of the crippled, broken SS Pendleton are edge-of-your seat stuff, and once Webber and his crew get in their little 36-foot motor lifeboat and head out into 60-foot seas, you're in for the ride of your life.