Poseidon (2006)

"...a buoyant, old-wave disaster pic for a generation of well-conditioned thrill seekers...  Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
"A nonstop action film that doesn't come up for air.  Pete Hammond, Maxim
"...awesome effects, nail-biting tension and a cast of characters we don't want dead after half an hour...  Simon Braund, Empire

Editor's Note German-born director Wolfgang Petersen (DAS BOOT, THE PERFECT STORM) returns to the sea for POSEIDON, a gripping remake of Ronald Neame and Irwin Allen's 1972 disaster classic, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. As passengers celebrate New Year's Eve aboard the massive ship Poseidon, a rogue wave devastates the luxury liner, turning it upside down as windows smash, fires break out, electric wires dangle dangerously, and people try to run for their lives--with seemingly nowhere to go. Despite Captain Bradford's (Andre Braugher) pleas for people to remain calm in the ballroom, a small group of people go against his orders and attempt to make their own way to the bottom of the ship, which is now the only section above water. Led by a low-rent gambler named Dylan (Josh Lucas) and the onetime mayor of New York City, Ramsey (Kurt Russell), and including a suicidal architect (Richard Dreyfuss), the former mayor's daughter (Emmy Rossum) and her fiancé (Mike Vogel), a stowaway (Mia Maestro), and a single mother (Jacinda Barrett) and her young son (Jimmy Bennett), they band together as they battle the elements, fight to save their lives, and learn something about themselves along the way. Although the special effects are cutting-edge, starting with the long, complex opening shot, Petersen makes sure to instill humanity into the characters, letting the film be driven by the story, not just the mechanics. To ensure the integrity of the project, one of the executive producers is Sheila Allen, who was married to disaster master Irwin Allen (producer of such films as THE TOWERING INFERNO, VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, and THE SWARM) until his death in 1991, and played Gina Rowe in THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (under her maiden name, Sheila Mathews). Fans of the Black Eyed Peas will get a kick out of Fergie as Gloria, the ballroom singer.

	Emmy Rossum
	Freddy Rodriguez
	Jacinda Barrett
	Josh Lucas
	Kevin Dillon
	Kurt Russell
	Richard Dreyfuss
	Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson
	John Seale - Cinematographer
	Kevin Burns - Executive Producer
	Kevin Ishioka - Art Director
	Klaus Badelt - Original Music By
	Mark Protosevich - Screenplay
	Mike Mansbridge - Art Director
	Paul Gallico - Based On Novel By
	Peter Honess - Editor
	Wolfgang Petersen - Director
	Wolfgang Petersen - Producer

Rolling Stone
3 stars out of 4 -- "You don't expect a remake to spring surprises. This one does." 05/18/2006 p.232

Entertainment Weekly
"[I]t's a buoyant, old-wave disaster pic for a generation of well-conditioned thrill seekers....[Dreyfuss] holds the center of every scene he's in." -- Grade: B 05/19/2006 p.53

Sight and Sound
"POSEIDON's action sequences are efficiently handled, conjuring a genuine sense of lung-busting tension..." 07/01/2006 p.64

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he movie's excellent visuals, set-pieces and breathtaking scale ensure it's an enjoyable piece of H20 hokum that makes for a solid (mari)time-filler." 11/01/2006 p.116

Ultimate DVD
3 stars out of 5 -- "[A] technically excellent white knuckle ride....The thrilling set pieces work rather well..." 08/01/2006 69

Reel.com 7 of 10
"Water, water everywhere, and not a moment to think. That about sums up Poseidon, a technically proficient but otherwise tedious redo of the classic 1972 disaster film The Poseidon Adventure, again based on the book by Paul Gallico...Despite solid visual effects and a few impressive, if incredulous action sequences (Josh Lucas's high dive into a fiery water pit is a dubious highlight), the movie mostly slogs along to its inevitable conclusion. The only minor tension comes from guessing who'll survive the journey, and there's at least one surprise on that front. My biggest surprise, though, was the wave of nostalgia I felt for The Poseidon Adventure. Suddenly, I missed its corny humanity, its campy, eclectic cast (Shelley Winters, Stella Stevens, Carol Lynley, and Roddy McDowall--all on one marquee!) and, of course, Maureen McGovern's gooey theme song, ""The Morning After."" Now that, folks, was entertainment." - Gary Goldstein

ReelViews 7 of 10
"Irwin Allen would be proud. Poseidon is a throwback - a 1970s-style disaster film made with 2006-era special effects. The movie delivers in most of the ways that matter for a motion picture of this ilk, with Poseidon never trying to be something it isn't. It's about a group of two-dimensional humans battling bad luck and Mother Nature in a sea-based disaster that makes Titanic look like a pleasure cruise...In the wake of Titanic, there's probably a temptation to turn a sea-disaster picture like Poseidon into en epic romance/adventure. It's a temptation that Petersen thankfully resists. Poseidon is devoid of anything that might conjure up memories of the Winslet/DiCaprio coupling. Its straightforward action/adventure approach is both a strength and a weakness. Petersen sets out to give us a group of undeveloped stock characters and a bunch of cheap thrills, and that's what he delivers. If that's the kind of thing you want from a would-be summer blockbuster, Poseidon will not disappoint." - James Berardinelli