Let the summer blockbuster bonanza begin! Last night, to kick off the summer movie season, I headed out to see Poseidon. I left the house with a bit of excitement, after seeing the trailer, but I didn't expect more than the typical popcorn thriller. Surprisingly, the hype for this film seemed rather lax and I wasn't quite sure why. Is it the fact that the film lies between MI III and The DaVinci Code? Or is it just something to fill movie audience's numbed minds? Quite frankly, I think that it's a bit of both.

Nevertheless, this summer movie season I intend to see all of the big blockbusters from the code breaking DaVinci Code to Cars to A Scanner Darkly. With that in mind, I'm kicking off a new summer blockbuster review for my blog. Each week, a new hit will grace the move screens and I'll be there soaking it in and posting my reviews back here. I always look forward to the summer movie season, and this is a way to express my thoughts on each hit and every stinker to come my way. Maybe I'll get you to get off the couch and hit the theaters or I'll just infuriate you by bashing one of your favorite franchises. Either way, I just hope to share my love for all movies under the film projector with others who equally love films. So without any further ado...

Poseidon 5/12/06

It's funny. I don't know why I do it, but when a sequel of a film is released or, for this matter, a remake, I hone up on that film's history. I'll watch the previous installments or the old originals somehow hoping to make my movie experience more complete. Why I enjoy movie 101 is beyond me, but for Poseidon, I think that it was beneficial. The original, titled The Poseidon Adventure, was the brainchild of Irwin Allen, the science fiction man behind the Lost in Space television show and his other disaster thriller, The Towering Inferno. A friend of mine said that I should definitely see the original first. So, I picked it up, in its new special edition DVD debut, and popped it into the home theater. It opens with a Star Wars-esque yellow type that basically warns the audiences that this is the cruise ship Poseidon's last endeavor. Made in 1972, it has a cast full of recognizable faces like a young Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Grandpa Joe from Willy Wonka, and Roddy McDowall from Planet of the Apes. Leslie Nielson even crops up as the ship's short lived role as captain. For the time, the special effects are pretty phenomenal, earning it an Academy Award, but the film lacks in everything else. The acting, I thought was full of constant yelling and screaming and the action moving from one perilous water filled room to the next. It didn't really go anywhere. If you look at the film for this time, though, I could see where it would be exciting.

Having, been a bit disappointed with the original, I was hoping for an awesome revamp with the remake. I mean, with Wolfgang Petersen at the helm, Poseidon should be able to stay afloat, right? It starts off, without the yellow scroll, forewarning viewers that the Poseidon will sink, and allows the audience to get to know the small band of characters that they'll be trailing with. I was surprised to see Richard Dreyfuss in an action role such as this, but he did a well enough job. Josh Lucas and Kurt Russell take up the most screen time, yet no real actor gave a performance that left you awestruck. Like the original, it was mostly terror induced dialogue.

This is where I think the film hurt the most. The action and special effects were great, but relentless. Neither the actors or the audience has a chance to catch their breath and get to know each other. It's like the audience is following this band of people that are strangers to them. Sure we know that one is a rogue type of fellow, another an architect, one a former mayor of New York City, a love struck couple, a mother and son, and an immigrant, but that's all we know. We never really get to see their emotions, feelings, or complexities. And, even when there is a moment for this, it just doesn't come across. It feels too wooden and strained. Sure the characters can rappel down fire hoses, swim through corridors, and jump to new heights, but their acting needed improvement. Even when a character died, it didn't move me. The character just seemed to die, and that was it...too bad. I suppose that it was more important to keep the action flowing. This movie was Hollywood to the max, complete with explosions, thin women, and guys who perform miraculous feats of man that were never before possible. It even has the typical ending of one man saving the others just in the nick of time. I'm sorry, but I've been there and done that.

I'm being harsh here, though. Poseidon is one of the films that you have to go into knowing that you're going to munch on some popcorn and be transported into a thriller. If you look at it as nothing more than that, then it should deliver. If non stop action and no serious plot or character development are your cup of tea, then you'll probably enjoy Poseidon. Yet, even as thrillers go, I never once felt my heart pumping up into my throat or cheer when a character just made it across a huge expanse. As thrillers go, it's mediocre. As films go, you might as well just see the original.

~QGJ