Poseidon (2006)

Director:

Wolfgang Petersen

Writers (WGA):

Mark Protosevich (screenplay)
Paul Gallico (novel)

Release Date:

12 May 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Mayday

Plot:

On New Year's Eve, the luxury ocean liner, Poseidon, capsizes after being swamped by a rogue wave. The survivors are left to fight for survival as they attempt to escape the sinking ship.

Plot Keywords:

Passenger | Cruise | New Year's Eve | Cruise Ship | Single Mother

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 22

11:00 AM

TNT

Cast

Josh Lucas	...	Dylan Johns
Kurt Russell	...	Robert Ramsey
Jacinda Barrett	...	Maggie James
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Richard Nelson
Emmy Rossum	...	Jennifer Ramsey
Mía Maestro	...	Elena Morales
Mike Vogel	...	Christian
Kevin Dillon	...	Lucky Larry
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Marco Valentin
Jimmy Bennett	...	Conor James
Stacy Ferguson	...	Gloria
Andre Braugher	...	Captain Bradford
Kirk B.R. Woller	...	Chief Officer Reynolds
Kelly McNair	...	Emily
Gabriel Jarret	...	1st Officer Chapman

Also Known As:

Poseidon: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version)
The Poseidon Adventure (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense prolonged sequences of disaster and peril.

Runtime:

98 min | Philippines:98 min (cut) | Germany:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Sonics-DDP (IMAX version) | SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Singapore:PG | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-11 | Portugal:M/12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42617) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Hungary:16 | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:15 | Brazil:12 | Norway:15 | Germany:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Hong Kong:IIA | South Korea:12 | Venezuela:PG-13 | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The interior ship shots were filmed in two separate sound stages at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California, one in which the ballroom set was built "right-side-up," the other where the identical set was built upside-down.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the scenes in the ship's ballast tanks, the characters open the valves to allow water to enter. However, since the ship is upside down, the ballast tanks should not operate normally. Where does the air in the space go?

Quotes:

[first lines]
Christian: When?
Jennifer Ramsey: Mmm. Today.
Christian: Yeah. When today?

Movie Connections:

References Backdraft (1991)

Soundtrack:

Let's Get Loud

Impressive ship wreck, but that's about it.

Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell) has a problem. He was once a heroic firefighter. He then ran for and became mayor of New York City. He wasn't a very good mayor though, and eventually lost that job. Now, he is nothing more than an over bearing father trying to control every aspect of his daughter Jennifer's life. They are on a vacation, taking a cruise on the Poseidon when suddenly, just after midnight on New Year's Eve tragedy strikes.

Jennifer Ramsey (Emmy Rossum) has a problem. She has a new boyfriend. She's in love with Christian (Mike Vogel) and her father doesn't approve of him. Christian thinks she should tell her father how serious their relationship really is and that they will be married. Jennifer says she will at the right time when suddenly, just after midnight on New Year's Eve tragedy strikes.

Elena Gonzalez (Mia Maestro) has a problem. Her brother is lying ill in a New York Hospital. She wants desperately to see him but does not have the money for transportation to get there. Her only alternative is to stow away on the Poseidon so that she can be with him. Everything is going well when suddenly, just after midnight on New Year's Eve tragedy strikes.

Richard Nelson (Richard Dreyfuss) has a problem. Richard Nelson is gay but that's not the problem. The problem is that his lover and companion has left him for someone else. To try to come to terms with it, Richard has booked transportation on the S.S. Poseidon. He uses his cell phone to leave a message for his ex-companion hoping he will return the call at midnight. When the call doesn't come, Richard tosses the cell phone overboard, is about to dive in right behind it when suddenly, just after midnight on New Year's Eve tragedy strikes.

I think by now you should be getting the point I'm trying to make. At any rate you'll have to settle for that so I don't go over my word limit. I'm not sure how long it took you to read the above paragraphs but my guess is that it took a lot less time to read them then it took for me to type it out. Yet, the time you spent reading it is roughly equal to the same amount of time Poseidon spends on letting us get to know the main characters of this latest story. And after reading about their story, did you find them particularly compelling? Of course you didn't.

And that pretty much sums up the biggest problem with Poseidon. You just don't care what happens to any of these people. It's the same as if you're talking to your next door neighbor Hazel on the phone and she is telling you about her cousin Sam from Idaho, and you nod and say uh-huh as if you care but you're really wondering how you can wheedle out of the conversation and move on with your life.

But there is one thing Poseidon does have that neighbor Hazel doesn't have. It has one huge ship wreck. In the original The Poseidon Adventure, when we first see the Tsunami that actually launches the plot, we think "Oh my gawd, a surfer would have a good time on that thing." In this film when we see it, we think, "Oh my gawd this spells trouble!" And that it does. Director Petersen leaves nothing to the imagination. He shows everything in as much detail as possible. We witness the galley bursting into flames and everybody being burnt to a crispy critter. Elevators come crashing down, people are falling and dying all over the place, dead bodies float all throughout the ship and outside the ship, and it's one big mess. And I have to admit I was certainly enthralled with this aspect of the film.

Afterwards we have to have our group of intrepid ship explorers decide that it's better to try and make it to the bottom of the ship which is now at the top because as the ever observant Richard Nelson says, "ships weren't made to float upside down Unlike the original film, where often it seemed as if the intrepid explorers had several days to go up to get to the bottom, this bunch knows time is of the essence. Petersen moves them systematically downwards, I mean upwards, from one part of the ship to the next. They pick up a couple of strays along the way, (humans not pets), because you always need a few more extras to meet their maker in a disaster film. And of course, you know that some will live and some will die so take your scorecard, map it out and see if you can guess right.

The continual sense of urgency in this film was much more believable then in the original version. But the problem with Poseidon is that even in a disaster film, or any adventure film for that matter, you have to have reason to care about your characters regardless of how well made the action sequences are or how good the special effects are. You won't care one iota nor feel any sense of loss whatsoever during this film. At some point, you do have to at least try and make your audience care. Petersen never does.

I once wrote that by Labor Day you'll probably have forgotten most of what you have seen during the summer, but if it entertained you for a while the film did its job. The problem with Poseidon is it won't even take you that long to forget. By the time girlfriend I hit the parking lot, the only thing I could remember was that I hadn't had dinner yet. And if that's the only thing I can remember when coming out of a movie theater, then I have no choice but to give you my grade and for Poseidon it's a C.