Rakesh's movie talk
Poseidon (2006)













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Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Written by Mark Protosevich (based on novel by Paul Gallico)
Starring: Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, Richard Dreyfuss and a few others whom I didn't give a rats ass about.
















Remaking a disaster flick is not easy. Especially a classic like Poseidon Adventure where the emotional relationship between the audience and the screen is sacred. You go back and watch that movie again and you’d have that anxiety all over again.

But Poseidon is a missed chance. First of all you have a cast and character (expect Kurt Russell) that you don’t care about. You don’t know that face and you don’t give a rats ass. I mean, in the earlier movie there was even a character you WISH would die (remember the boy) but that does not happen here. Josh Lucas is supposed to be the lead and well…I still think he doesn’t have the oomph (Malaysian expression for chutzpah, the Mojo, whatnot) to shoulder a film.

Kurt Russell does. He always had. And Kurt Russell is made for films like this. Remember Backdraft? Remember Breakdown? When you see a tensed face of Russell’s, you know that what follows would have you gritting your teeth along the way.

Here, it happens only when he is on screen. What went wrong? And why does if have to go wrong when you have a director who is a specialist in suspense and most importantly, a specialist in suspense in water?

You all know Wolfgang Peterson. He became known in Hollywood for his German feature Das Boot. Watch that movie and you know a new definition to the word Suspense. And then there was In Line of Fire, and later Air Force One, two films that combined suspense and action with great skill. Of course, there was The Perfect Storm. He considered this movie as the third part of his water trilogy. He should have kept his mouth shut.

But I guess Hollywoodisation would do that to you. I am not saying that the movie sucks, but it just does not rock. There are some nail-biting situation here and there, and to me it only happens when Russell is on screen. Other than that I found time walk out twice, one to the lavatory, and another to get some more snacks.

Did I mention there was another great actor in this movie? Remember Richard Dreyfuss? Yeah. By the time the movie is over you would forget that he worked in it. It seems Dreyfuss joked (off screen) that he got the job because of his great performance underwater (Jaws). Haha. Funny Dick. Now, go back, take a hard look at that Oscar of yours and get a real job.