Poseidon Adventure (2005)

"...plenty of big stunts and action...  Brian Lowry, Variety
"...when the film concentrates on delivering the almighty blockbuster goods, it works remarkably efficiently with some impressive epic set-pieces.  Total Film

Editor's Note This impressive, old-fashioned made-for-TV disaster movie, like the original, takes place on an enormous and doomed luxury liner, where thousands have gathered to celebrate New Year's Eve. When a terrorist bomb explodes on board, the survivors are forced to fight for their lives to escape the upside-down sinking ship--including the terrorist himself. The action-packed drama boasts a capable cast, including Adam Baldwin, Steve Guttenberg, Rutger Hauer, and C. Thomas Howell.

	Adam Baldwin
	Alex Kingston
	Alexa Hamilton
	Bryan Brown
	C. Thomas Howell
	Peter Weller
	Rutger Hauer
	Steve Guttenberg
	Bryce Zabel - Screenplay
	Jennifer Jean Cacavas - Editor
	Joe Kraemer - Original Music By
	John Putch - Director
	Jonathan A. Carlson - Production Designer
	Larry Levinson - Executive Producer
	Paul Gallico - Based On Novel By
	Randy Pope - Producer
	Ross Berryman - Cinematographer
	Tom Hannam - Art Director

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[W]hen the film concentrates on delivering the almighty blockbuster goods, it works remarkably efficiently with some impressive epic set-pieces." 06/01/2006 p.49

Variety 6 of 10
Hey, that giant tidal wave was so 1970s. Why not a new "The Poseidon Adventure," where the ship is upended by terrorists that infiltrate the kitchen staff? OK, so one man's current-events-oriented rethinking to include a weird disaster-movie-meets-"Navy SEALs" mesh is another's unnecessary exploitation. Bottom line is that once the boat finally flips, there are plenty of big stunts and action here -- this remake's one saving grace, since all the character-driven revisions only water down the product...In another bit of updating, at the core of this "Adventure" is a dysfunctional nuclear family, the Clarkes. Dad (Steve Guttenberg) and mom (Alexa Hamilton) have brought their kids (Amber Sainsbury, Rory Copus) on a cruise, but not only is their marriage on the rocks, dad starts a brazen affair with the ship's masseuse (Nathalie Boltt)...While such a project is hardly an actors' showcase, it would help if viewers cared even remotely about the passengers before they start dying off. Unfortunately, the drama is flimsy at best, including Guttenberg's cringe-worthy attempts to bond with his kids when he should be, say, trying to avoid plunging into flames -- a fiery death suffered by some that proves rife with symbolic reckoning...the strategy here is as transparent as the hole in the Poseidon: Hope the name alone sparks curiosity. - Brian Lowry