Poseidon

Plot synopsis:
In the northern Atlantic Ocean, the ocean liner Poseidon, named for the Greek god of water, is sailing through the ocean. On one of its thirteen decks, we see Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas) running for an evening workout, stopping when he reaches the top to enjoy the last sunset of 2005. Meanwhile, in one of the 800 cabins, Jen Ramsey (Emmy Rossum) is canoodling with her boyfriend/fiancée Christian (Mike Vogel) when they are interrupted by Jen's father, former firefighter/mayor of New York Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell). Christian immediately starts sucking up to the older man, who tells Christian, "Stop calling me sir....it makes me feel old." He also implies that the kids are having sex, which Jen flatly denies before stomping off to her room of the large suite. Down below in the kitchen, an attractive Spanish girl named Elena (Mia Maestro), is hunting for her friend Marco Valentin. She finds Marco (Freddy Rodriguez), a waiter on the ship, and we quickly learn that he is smuggling her across from Europe so she can be with her sick brother in New York. He gives her some food from a nearby plate, but he tells her that she has to stay in the cabin. Elsewhere, gay architect Richard Nelson (Richard Dreyfus) calling his boyfriend, but he only gets the answering machine, and we can tell that his lover recently broke up with him.That night, Captain Michael Bradford (Andre Braugher) welcomes everyone to his ship. He tells them a little about its namesake and then introduces musical act Gloria (Stacy Ferguson). While she performs we go up a few decks, Dylan and Ramsey are playing a game of Texas Holdem with two others, generic guy five and Lucky Larry (Kevin Dillon). Jen and Christian come up to say hello to Ramsey before heading over to the nightclub as he's nearing a fifty thousand dollar betting mark with Dylan (Larry and guy five folded). Ramsey asks Jen to button up her dress to cover her breasts, and as she does says loudly for all about his hand, a pair of fives . Ramsey looks up at Dylan, who is grinning evilly and saying, "All in." Over at another table, we see Nelson telling some of his friends the story of his breakup and his ex's quick turnaround while he orders a five thousand dollar bottle of wine for the table just before excusing himself to get some air. Meanwhile, we see Dylan walking away with his winnings when he bumps into a kid playing with his PSP. The kid is Connor James (Jimmy Bennet) and he takes an immediate liking to Dylan, as does his mom Maggie (Jacinda Barret) who quickly comes up looking for him. Meanwhile, we see Jen and Chris in the nightclub partying like crazy as Elena picks her way through the crowed lower decks.On the bridge the officer of the watch gets a feeling that "Something's off," when the instruments suddenly detect a HUGE 150-foot tall, tidal wave coming towards the ship (Nelson, who was about to jump overboard, also sees this and it ironically makes him rethink the suicide). The officer orders a hard to starboard in order to meet the wave head on, but it is too late. The wave hits the starboard side of the ship, sweeping dozens of people overboard (some of whom were in the on-deck pool), crushing others, flash-frying some, electrifying a few, and in general causing all sorts of hellish chaos. The Poseidon completely turns over, upside down and within seconds, all power on the ship goes off and the lights fail, plunging the capsized ship into darkness.In the large dining room, after the general chaos has subsided, Captain Bradford calls for order and assures the people that as soon as the rogue wave hit the ship, a signal went off and rescue teams are on the way. As he's talking, Maggie notices Connor stuck on a piano on the ceiling (it was bolted down). Ramsey comes over and with the help of a few others creates a slide out of a curtain for Connor to fall into. In the nightclub Jen in Ok but one of the spotlight girders has fallen on Christian, trapping his leg. Jen tries to get it off but is unable to. Looking around, she spots Elena and gets her to help, and the two girls try again. Ramsey asks the captain to let him go search for Jen but the Captain wants everyone to stay put. Connor notices Dylan taking off, he explains that they can get out through the propeller area. Nelson, Ramsey, Maggie, Connor, decide to join Dylan and they grab Marco to be their guide. As they leave, we see hatches seal behind them as the captain mutters, "God be with them." On the other side, in the galley, the group picks their way through a messed up area, eventually coming to a service elevator that should lead them to safety. To cross the shaft, they grab a flimsy metal shelf and use it as a bridge. Dylan tries to get the doors on the other side open, but they won't budge. He notices the doors on the next level "up" are open, so Nelson volunteers as a stirrup to get him up there. Just as Dylan finishes getting the upper doors open, an elevator cab "above" them starts lurching "down" and it becomes a race to get everyone through. Finally it's down to Nelson and Marco. The makeshift bridg falls, and Marco grabs onto Nelson's leg. Realizing they can't save both, Dylan orders Nelson to kick Marco off, and Marco falls all the way to the bottom of the shaft before being crushed by the elevator which also falls to the bottom as well. The group recovers and heads on.Back in the nightclub, Elena and Jen are still struggling when they are approached by Lucky Larry. He repositions the rod they're using for leverage and they are able to get the girder off of Christian just as the other group arrives. Ramsey and Jen reunite, and everybody is introduced (except for a very drunk Larry). They escape via a hot door that seems to have a fire behind it. Dylan and Ramsey open the door, Dylan reveals he used to be in the Navy, and they end up in the main concourse of the ship. They use a fallen escalator as a bridge to climb to the other side. Most of the group gets across, but when it's Lucky Larry's turn, he decides to do it without help. Just as he's in the middle, an auxiliary diesel unit comes through the ceiling(floor), killing Larry, destroying the bridge and causing a literal waterfall of burning oil. Ramsey says to find another way across, but Dylan grabs a nearby fire hose, dives into the water, swims across, and climbs up to where the others are, making a kind of bungee bridge. Ramsey still wants to find another way, but Jen is insistent on this way and shows him the ring finally. He settles, but then she ducks out and comes back with a little hook for him to hang onto. They slide across together with her piggybacking on him while he holds onto the hook, and the group heads off once more.Back in the concert area, we see people milling around when suddenly the captain notices the glass cracking. He gets about five seconds to digest this when suddenly all the windows burst open and water comes pouring in, drowning everybody. Meanwhile, Elena, Ramsey, Nelson, Jen, Christian, Dylan, Maggie, and Connor have found a shaft that they think might lead "down" to the next level. Ramsey checks it out and says it's good, and eventually they all get in there, despite Elena's claustrophobia. While they're climbing, Ramsey congratulates Christian just as they reach the locked exit from the shaft. Ramsey tries to get his fingers around to unscrew it, but he can't so he calls up Connor to unscrew. As Connor is climbing, Nelson suddenly slips on a part of the vent that had buckled. Elena freaks out, especially since the water is rising, but Dylan manages to convince her to push Nelson out. She does so just as Connor gets the last screw out. They narrowly escape the vent, although Dylan is nearly drowned. They end up in some kind of ballast chamber, and Dylan realizes the only way out of it is to flood the chamber so the vent on one side of the room opens. They let the water in and after a while, the vent opens and they swim for some stairs. On the way though, Elena gets caught on something and manages to cut herself pretty badly. Ramsey manages to get her out of the water and tries CPR but she is drowned. The group leaves Elena's dead body behind, and moves on. The ship is slowly sinking and water levels keep rising.Back with our remaining heroes, we see that the area they need to go get out is currently under more water than they could swim through. Discouraged, they regroup and try to think of another way out when suddenly the ship starts going vertical. They realize that this means the previous way that was blocked might now be clear, and they head that way when Maggie notices that Connor is missing. She and Dylan search for him while the others secure an exit. They find him trapped behind a screen in an area that is rapidly filling with water. Dylan dives under and tries to get him out. After a couple of attempts he frees the boy and the trio rapidly make for the other four, who have made it into the engine room. Nelson sees the door to the bow thrusters and opens it, only to get blown back by the hurricane-force winds the still-active propellor is generating. While Jen looks after him, Christian suggests throwing something in there to block the propellers and get them to stop, but Ramsey points out they'd need to either stop them manually or get them turning the other way, which makes the two argue about who should make the hundred and fifty foot swim to the underwater control room. Christian says that he has better lung capacity so he should do it, and Ramsey reluctantly agrees. Christian moves to say a teary goodbye to Jen, and while he's busy with that, Ramsey dives in and swims off. The other three arrive and are told what Ramsey is doing as we see Ramsey get in the control room. He finds the engine stop button, but it's broken. He starts running out of air, and with his last breath manages to find the button to make the propellers turn the other way.Back in the propeller room, everyone notices that the blades are now turning the other way. Dylan tries to throw a compressed gas tank into the blades to get them to stop, but the tank gets caught crosswise in the narrow door frame. The water threatens to burst into the little room they are in and Dylan finally manages to push the tank into the thruster shaft. There's a huge explosion that blows out that pair of thrusters. The six survivors pick their way through the tube, stopping at a long drop to the water. Dylan says they have to jump, and soon everybody is in the water and swimming for a nearby liferaft. They get in just as the ship goes under, and Jen screams at them to row like crazy so they don't get drowned in the backwash. They manage to escape it. Dylan fires off a flare gun to let any rescue teams know where they are. After a wait, a pair of helicopters arrive and hover over the raft.

Tags: suspenseful, psychedelic, suicidal

Review:
With the sun setting in the distance and the immense size of the vessel itself contrasted with the deep blue of the water, this is a visually astounding entrance to a movie that is unfortunately very shallow indeed.A remake of the classic disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure, this tells much the same story with a small group of passengers trying to escape a doomed ocean liner after it capsizes due to a freak wave.
Then there is Richard Dreyfuss (who has finally found a bigger boat), whose character might as well be listed in the credits as "depressed, elderly gay man." Everyone else is just as vacuous and while Josh Lucas is certainly a charismatic focal point, it cannot make up for the two dimensional stereotypes of Kevin Dillon's gambler Lucky Larry or Mike Vogel's performance as Christian, the fiancée of Russell's daughter who manages to put in perhaps the worst attempt at acting you will see in a blockbuster this year.It does have a few commendable points though.
This is a perfect time to remake a film like this (much better than in 1972) -- just go overboard with special effects and no one will notice the flawed writing (which is basically a sketchbook mess).This is the reason Poseidon does not fail in entertaining the audience.
Another thing, besides special effects, that is by far better in this version is that the characters are actually interested in surviving and do not stop every few minutes for a petty argument as in The Poseidon Adventure (1972).
Whilst not holding a candle to the far superior original in terms of script, plot and acting, this remake of the classic 1972 'The Poseidon Adventure' is at least watchable which is more than can be said for a lot of the seemingly endless tide of remakes hitting cinemas these days.The characters (for want of a better word) are a bit thin and cardboard and the plot really is just a long string of reasonably predictable set pieces but at least it entertains.
For some reason Hollywood can do some really good FX and CGI when it comes to boats and the CGI rendition of the Poseidon itself in the opening scene is incredibly well done.Top marks also to the Producers for making sure the Poseidon is a proper British flagged Southampton registered ship and not some Americanised tub.Much like its predecessor though I fully expect this version to become stable Bank Holiday afternoon television filler material for the next twenty years.
One thing became clear early on in this film: a sky-high budget isn't worth a bucket of seawater if the characters aren't interesting or involving.On New Year's Eve, the ocean liner, Poseidon, is capsized by an enormous rogue wave that appears without warning.
Storytelling is dead in Hollywood.The Poseidon Adventure, starring Gene Hackman, is still loved by many decades after its release, because the creative forces behind that project breathed life into the characters and crafted a solid film.
I could do a laundry list of reasons why the original cast of survivors - Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Stella Stevens, Pammy Sue Martin and even Carol Lynley - blow the new cast including Kurt Russell, bargain basement Matthew McConaughey Josh Lucas, Richard Dreyfus as a despondent gay man who can get cell phone reception at sea, Emmy Rossum and Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas (going by her Kids Incorporated given name of Stacy Ferguson) out of the water.
A group of passengers join together to try to escape the ship.The original Poseidon was decent disaster film.
I should warn you (or comfort you?) that Stacy Ferguson from the Black Eyed peas is only in the movie for about 10 minutes, maybe a little less.When judged as a disaster film, Poseidon is actually pretty decent.
His character would have been quite enjoyable had he not been so reprehensible.As far as the rest of the cast went, you may as well have taken them like so many Barbie and Ken dolls, popped off their heads and interchanged them.The costumes were pretty much what you might expect to see aboard ship on New Year's Eve, but nothing strikingly great.
Deciding not to listen to the captain (Andre Braugher), Dylan tries leads a group of passengers (Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Emmy Rossum, etc.) to safety.This is a modern remake of the 1972 'The Poseidon Adventure'.
Poseidon, my friends, is not one of these movies.Just like the original, Poseidon is the story about a new cruise ship that has been struck by a rogue wave which results in the ship flipping over and trapping the guest within the sinking ship.
I understand that the ship is sinking and they have to get off as soon as possible but I distinctly remember the original having the same story line and I didn't feel like the characters were running some obstacle course that they needed to get through in 2 minutes.
I think that if he would have taken the time to watch the original he would have come to the realization that he could have put 30 more minutes in the movie and it probably would have turned out better.The only positive thing that I saw about this movie was the scenes that showed the ship getting hit by the rogue wave.
I think a lot of people are trashing on this film because--after embracing every rotten comic book adaptation and remake of a crappy 70's TV sitcom that's been spoon fed them in the past five years--it is now fashionable to assume the other position and slag on anything that dares to remake a "70's classic", has a big budget, etc, etc.I found the new version of POSEIDON to be an incredibly intense experience.
In other words, he'd rather fill a movie with all sorts of dazzling special effects, play a lot with CG, fill huge tanks with water and life-size boats on "gimbles" than to tell a more "human" story.
While the original Poseidon Adventure is pretty much perfect in every regard; story, characters, intense action, set pieces, physical effects, music.
Sure, the film is cheesy, full of one-dimensional characters, has a flawed script, and lacks a soul, but it is spectacular, has more than its fair share of white-knuckle moments, and features some superb visual effects.Let's face it, this remake was never going to outdo the original (and did anyone really think it would?), which benefited from REAL star power and a decent script.
Meanwhile is developed romance and emotional byplay between various couples, Emily Russum-Mike Vogel, Josh Lucas-Jacinda Barrett, Richard Dreyfuss-Mia Maestro and relationship among parents and sons : Kurt Russell-Emily Russum and Jacinda Barrett-Jimmy Bennett.This high budget remake mingles action, intrigue, disaster spectacle , suspense and quite entertaining though plenty of clichés.
The protagonists spend most of their time devising grisly ways for avoid to die like in the original picture based on a novel by Paul Gallico.The movie isn't bad but the events were also spectacularly filmed in classic version, previously winner several Oscar Academy Award.Introductory sequences are a little boring but one soon gets caught in the tale when the vessel is capsized by tidal wave.The explosions, pyrotechnics and floods are sensational but the movie is just another habitual blockbuster product and resulted to be a box office flop, in spite of a million dollars production.
It has to introduce a bunch of characters who we know some of which are going to die eventually, yet in the end, we don't really care.A luxury liner named "Poseidon" is on a cruise one New Year's Eve when a rogue wave has capsized the ship.
So we meet Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas), the charismatic "leader" of the group who originally set to escape alone but later has to tug along with him a number of people; Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell), the father of Jennifer (Emily Rossum) who is engaged to Christian (Mike Vogel) despite the reluctance of her father to their relationship; Maggie (Jacinda Barrett), a single mother and her nine-year old son Conor (Jimmy Bennett); Richard (Richard Dreyfuss), a man with serious issues on suicide; Elena (Mia Maestro), a religious stowaway; Lucky Larry (Kevin Dillon), the one who cares so much about his liquor even in the face of a disaster; and Marco (Freddy Rodriguez), a waiter serving as a "map." Obviously, it is a movie with nothing but plot devices sprinkled all over in an attempt to showcase the special effects with a siding of hokey emotional moments among the survivors, which just don't work.
Cast: Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Emmy Rossum, Richard Dreyfuss, Jacinda Barrett, Jimmy Bennett.If you're going to rebake a disaster movie of such epic schlock-chic value as The Poseidon Adventure, you'd better put together a mighty fine recipe.From the histrionics of Shelley Winters and the ham-fisted, macho posturing of Gene Hackman and Ernest Borgnine to the (literal) depth-charge of disco just past the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, the 34-year-old yarn had it all.Along with Irwin Allen's next production, The Towering Inferno, it kick-started a '70s genre of faded-star catastrophe movies like Earthquake, Meteor and Airport '75.When the "Master of Disaster" died in 1991 of natural causes, it looked like the calamity flick had passed away with Allen.
Under Petersen's control the movie is mostly tight, and at times visually mesmerizing.For those of you who've somehow missed the multiple TV reruns of The Poseidon Adventure over the past three decades, the plot of that, and its remake, goes something like this: It's New Year's Eve out there in the big blue yonder.
An ocean liner called the Poseidon is carrying hundreds of wealthy passengers on a cruise most people in the audience will never be able to afford, when a rogue wave chugs out of nowhere and turns everything upside down.The remainder of the story seems to have something to do with Darwin and the endurance of the fittest, as the survivors attempt to escape a pleasure cruiser that's turned immense, partially floating coffin.In the new version, former firefighter Robert Ramsey (Russell), his daughter Jennifer (Rossum) and her fiancé team up with hard-nosed gambler Dylan Johns (Lucas), an annoying suicidal gay pensioner (Richard Dreyfuss), a single mother with her geeky son, an alcoholic card shark named "Lucky" and a Catholic stowaway with claustrophobia.Some of these people, of course, have "doomed to die" tattooed across their foreheads from the outset.But who really cares?
and then some.What truly makes this film a bottom-of-the-barrel disaster movie is that underneath the horribly cheesy lines, bad performances from decent actors, brutally obvious plot holes, inconsistent characters, and excessive contradictions, I cannot think of one positive thing to say about this movie.
Poseidon would have gained so much from another half hour or so to properly set the characters up, explain their motives, and more importantly, explain why the audience should care what happens to them.People bemoan special effects all the time, as if their advancement automatically results in a lesser story.
This new version of movie La adventure of the Poseidon., of 1972, is one production done very well, with excellent special effects and moments of condition, in the middle of the almost inverosimil one fled these passengers from a safe death.
Though the characters aren't as developed as some of us might like them to be (okay, as I might like them to be), the fact that the movie is relatively short (98 minutes) and the action is non-stop actually make the film better in its genre.Director Wolfgang Peterson has a moderately uneven past, but with Troy (which I thought was a better effort than some critics did), The Perfect Storm, and Air Force One on his résumé, there's some unquestionable skill and experience he's able to lend to Poseidon; he moves things right along, and his tight edits and the focus on the terror of individuals is just terrific for adding to the overall effect of the movie.
And while you may not relive moments of the film in your mind in the days to come, you'll almost certainly enjoy the ride as long as it lasts.FAMILY SUITABILITY: Poseidon is rated PG-13 for "intense prolonged sequences of disaster and peril." There are also some rather creative ways various people meet their deaths, and though it's typically not graphic, a few of them are pretty awful.
The Special F/X were awesome and even it thought that i was too real to see the people getting upside down with the tildal wave.The 1972 version was more of drama with a mix of adventure but this new version surpassed -in my opinion- to the original because this version had more action and intensity with the thrilling scenes.Something that got me desperate and angrier was that kid that disappears every moment; also I was pleased that my favorite characters survived but it was sad one of the last deaths.I recognized some familiar faces like Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama), Kurt Russell (Sky High), Robert Dreyfuss (Jaws), Jacinda Barrett (Urban Legends: Final Cut), Emmy Rossum (The Day After Tomorrow), Mike Vogel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2003) -will you believe me that I didn't recognize him with the short hair?-, Mia Maestro (Secuestro Express) and the cameo of Stacy Ferguson, well known as Fregie from The Black Eyed Peas.The movie is highly recommendable; too bad that in the US was promoted at last time when outside the US was getting a very good promotion.Anyway I give this: 9/10..
A group of survivors tries to find a escape route through the propeller tunnel.The original 1972 "The Poseidon Adventure" is one of the best disaster movies of the 70's, with a good screenplay, engaging characters and great special effects.
The giant tidal wave capsizing the luxury liner Poseidon would take care of that, leaving only a small group of people fighting to reach the top and get out.Another thing, besides special effects, that is by far better in this version is that the characters are actually interested in surviving and do not stop every few minutes for a petty argument as in The Poseidon Adventure (1972).
That would have been fine for POSEIDON, the remake directed by Wolfgang Petersen (DAS BOOT), except now it seems that the only way to draw audiences to see it is that there should be a.) little character development as possible and b.) tons of CGI-ed action sequences to make it more believably exciting.As a result, POSEIDON is a reasonably well done but utterly simple-minded and empty spectacle.
"Poseidon" is a remake of that other sinking ship film, "The Poseidon Adventure", one of the original crop of disaster movies from the early seventies.
This isn't a masterpiece.It isn't even that great a movie.What it is though is a reasonably entertaining 90+ minutes that has good effects and very cheesy dialogue.Sometimes it is too easy to try and analyze every movie that you see but in the case of films like this you just have to take them for what they are.It is entertaining,it is clichéd and yes,it is as corny as hell.But at the end of the day so what?It is most probably a movie that you would only watch once and it does show a lack of imagination by way of being a remake.Does it add anything to the original?Apart from the improved special effects no,not really.But I am not going to slate this movie simply because I happened to quite enjoy it.It most definitely won't make the IMDb 250 but it is better than some of the titles in there,at least in my opinion.Watch it,rate it and forget about it.You may just think that it is a pile of tosh but at least it entertains for a while..
It avoided the trap of interminable character development, and instead moved quickly into the actual disaster - the rogue wave hits the ship pretty early on in the movie, within the first 20 minutes I would say.
After a set up introducing the characters whom we will be watching attempt to get out of this massive cruise liner and an oddly non-thrilling and unspectacular scene when the wave does hit, Poseidon just nestles into a nice rhythm of cause and effect revolving around various situations you might find yourself in when threatened with this scenario.What's only very slightly effective is the fact you don't know who's going to die and who isn't as there's no real clear cut hero apart from the guy who knows his way around the boat but maybe killing that person off when they're half way through the mission thus rendering the expedition momentarily lost would have been a fun and unnerving move.
With no time to think, the movie is over and you wonder where the hour and a half went.Somehow,even the line-up of Richard Dreyfuss and Kurt Russell did not improve anything here.The film lacked confrontation,as with Hackman and Borgnine, in original.
Most will probably say, "So what" when this person or that gets snuffed out by the expensive CGI water, fire, or explosion.Hollywood needs to learn that it's the people in the film audiences care about, not the "totally awesome" special effects.
Unlike the original where we see individual people struggle to stay alive as the ship turns over and we feel for the unknown guy who falls to his death into the skylight, here we just get overwhelmed and marvel at the technicians who build the collapsing elevators.Wolfgang Peterson used to be a top flight director (Das Boot, In the Line of Fire, Air Force One) but then he discovered digital effects and has allowed his latest films to become overwhelmed with massive visuals that crush whatever cardboard characters he has running around (Perfect Storm, Troy and now this ultimate disaster, Posiedon.).
The director Wolfgang Petersen should make more effects on these main characters like Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas and so on.