Poseidon

"Poseidon" was exactly what I expected. Unfortunately, I wasn't expecting much. Great special effects do not make for a great movie. If nothing else, the effects do keep the movie from completely sinking.

Starring Josh Lucas and Kurt Russell, "Poseidon" is a remake of the 1972 epic "The Poseidon Adventure" where a luxury cruise ship is hit broadside by a rogue wave. This causes the ship to flip over, leaving the bottom of the boat now floating on top of the water and stranding all the passengers underwater. Their fate is to either drown or make a life-or-death trek to get off the ship. Admittedly, I have not seen the original so I cannot compare the two. However, while the special effects are surely better in the remake, I can't imagine that the dialog is any better.

The movie wastes no time in quickly introducing us to the main characters, but we get to know very little about them. Less than 20 minutes in, the ship is struck by the wave and the adventure begins. Nine of the passengers make an attempt to move from the bottom (formerly the top) of the luxury liner toward an exit now existing above water. Not everyone survives, but you don't care that they die. You just can't wait to see how they go. The characters are all pretty standard, featuring the former tough-guy mayor, the daughter who goes against her dad's wishes and dates a guy he doesn't approve of, there's the rebel who becomes the savior, the mom with the screaming kid, the drunk guy, the old gay guy, and a stowaway.

On the plus side, there is no slow point to the film. It moves along faster than the wave that hits it. There are flashes of "Titanic" and "Armageddon" here, and nothing original. "Poseidon" is probably better on the big screen, but I wouldn't sink too much money into seeing it. I give it a C+.

"Poseidon" is rated R with a running time of 98 minutes.