What is it about? -- Essentially, this is a film about "kapal yang tenggelam" (a ship that sinks). And that is the most accurate thing to be said about Wolfgang Petersen's new summer flick, which is indeed a far cry from his A-list powered offering, Troy, last year. Petersen's formula for Poseidon can be aptly summarised as follows: 1) Brief overview of main characters who are aboard ship (or ocean liner or cruise ship, whichever you prefer). 2) Catastrophe occurs soon after, landing aforesaid characters in a dire predicament. 3) Characters try to resolve predicament (i.e. escape from capsizing ship), during which, a few of them will die, including one whom we hate and at least one likeable character. 4) Characters successfully survive ordeal and live happily ever after (whereas everyone else dies!)
Who's in it? -- The most familiar mug you might notice is the ever-reliable Kurt Russel a.k.a the king of B-grade Hollywood action films. If you're a discerning viewer, you might even notice Emmy Rossum (last seen in Phantom of The Opera and The Day After Tomorrow). The older folks would also be able to spot Richard Dreyfuss of Mr Holland's Opus fame. For the younger crowd, Black Eyed Peas' Fergie (Stacy Ferguson) makes a cameo as a performing singer (duh, what else?) who entertains the celebrating passengers on New Year's Eve before the ocean liner they are on gets hit by a "rouge" wave. That's one heck-of-a party pooper!
Why should/shouldn't you watch it? -- Unlike most disaster films of recent years which try to mix action with a dash of drama or romance (think Armageddon, Deep Impact, Titanic, et al), Poseidon goes straight to the thick of the action with very little schmaltz. However, the side-effects and CGI in this film aren't all that spectacular (for a Petersen-helmed film) although they do serve their purpose rather adequately.
In a nutshell -- While not entirely disagreeable, Poseidon doesn't break any new ground and remains firmly rooted to the tried-and-tested disaster movie formula. Will probably be a hit amongst those who 1) patronises heartland cinemas and must die-die watch anything that's showing there at the moment. 2) loves to watch no-brainer action flicks . 3) Wants to watch anything else BUT Tom Cruise in MI3.
If you must know, I belong to the latter category. LOL
my ratings ---- 2.5/5 stars~!
