Poseidon
Review by Fritz Esker
I love Fats Domino's music. But, despite being a lifelong New Orleanian, I never saw him perform live. I guess I just took him for granted. However, once he nearly died in Katrina, I knew I had to see him. When I heard he was performing Jazz Fest, I was ecstatic. To me, nothing would be a greater symbolic victory than watching Fats, one of New Orleans' few bright stars who never moved away, belt out songs on stage, even though he lost his home, and his neighborhood (the 9th Ward). To me, nothing would have been a greater middle finger to fate/the Corps of Engineers/God/whomever you feel is most responsible for the Katrina catastrophe. On Sunday, I parked the customary million miles away from the Fairgrounds and walked through a rainstorm to see Fats play. Sadly, I learned when I got there that he was ill and would not perform. I suppose expecting a man in his eighties who's been through all that Fats has in the past year to perform is asking a bit much of him. The day was not a total loss, though. I hung out with some friends, got to see Harry Shearer in person (the voice of Mr. Burns, my favorite TV character of all time), saw Paul Simon perform a nice duet of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with Irma Thomas (another old-time, popular N.O. performer who, like Fats, lost her home to Katrina), and got to watch a lot of people enjoy themselves. But it was a shame Fats couldn't be there. All in all, it was mixed bag - like a lot of things about post-Katrina New Orleans.
The creative forces behind Poseidon have the right idea. Namely, it is a better bet to remake a cheesy movie (1972's The Poseidon Adventure), than a great one. Director Wolfgang Petersen (In the Line of Fire, Das Boot) succeeds in improving upon the original. Unfortunately, the film, while relatively painless, is still a cold and forgettable exercise in summer blockbuster filmmaking.
Petersen is a skillful director who has made some good films. Even in his lesser efforts (Air Force One, Troy), he still shows a certain degree of craftsmanship. Unlike many contemporary directors (the most notable culprit being Michael Bay), Petersen can actually direct action scenes well. Most of the action in Poseidon is well-staged, as one would expect from Petersen. Unlike the original film, whose title The Poseidon Adventure implied that a tragedy that caused the deaths of thousands was really just a fun, swashbuckling adventure, Petersen does not shy away from the grim after-effects of a cruise ship being capsized by a rogue wave. There are deaths by drowning, fire, and electrocution. People fall to their deaths and are crushed by falling objects. As the survivors (headed by Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, and Richard Dreyfuss) try to climb to the bottom of the ship (now the top, thanks to the wave), they pass by numerous floating corpses. This is not fun to watch, but the depiction of thousands of people dying shouldn't be. So, that is all an improvement over the original, which seemed largely indifferent to the deaths of the non-major characters.
At only 98 minutes, the film does not overstay its welcome. However, the down side to this is that almost no character development occurs. Just a couple of minutes in, the rogue wave hits and everyone goes into survival mode, making it hard to truly care about the characters. Now, one of the criticisms thrown at James Cameron's Titanic was that it spent far too long (90 minutes or so) introducing everyone and establishing the romance before getting to the ship sinking. There is some validity to this criticism. But, in avoiding this, Poseidon goes to the opposite extreme and avoids establishing characters almost entirely. One exception is about halfway through when one character (Kevin Dillon, wearing a funny mustache and a funnier leisure suit) awkwardly and out of nowhere launches into a speech giving background info about Kurt Russell's character. But, it is a lazy, halfhearted attempt to give character info. Because of the absence of character development, the film largely feels like watching actors go through an obstacle course.
Unfortunately, the one thing Poseidon has going for it (the depictions of destruction) ends up feeling not as good because of Titanic. Titanic has many very vocal detractors, and they have some valid points. Yes, it goes on too long. Yes, the frame story is largely unnecessary. James Cameron cannot write romantic dialogue (although he is better than George Lucas). It should not have beaten L.A. Confidential for Best Picture. However, Cameron stages mayhem as well as anyone. Even now, if I catch the second half of Titanic when I'm channel surfing, I find the ship sinking sequence amazing to watch. So, Petersen's work here, while competent, still feels like it is a poor man's version of Cameron's work.
Poseidon does not deserve to join the pantheon of horrendous summer films (Batman and Robin, Armageddon, Speed 2, Tomb Raider, and many more). However, it is one that by next year, almost everyone will forget.