The early part of the 21st century may be remembered for the
time of remakes and we’ve seen it all, from Disney to horrors
and everything in between these two distinct genres.
Although some of the remakes have been good,
there have been plenty of stinkers too. Of course some don’t want the
classics touched and this is where Poseidon comes into the argument, a
modern remake of the original 70’s ship disaster movie (The Poseidon
Adventure) starring American’s very own Kurt Russell.
Big on special
effects, Poseidon lacked true spirit which the original movie had and to
make matters worse, you were rooting for the ship to go down faster as
none of the characters were likeable. There is one redeeming aspect to
this remake that is Kurt Russell who replaces the original Gene Hackman.
Joining
Russell, we have a variety of “modern” clichéd characters from the young
couple in love to even a gay architect which obviously makes the film
more realistic. Unlike Cameron’s epic film, The Titanic, director
Petersen basically throws out the characterisation with the baby
water and we’re thrust into the disaster fairly early in the movie. As
the majority of characters die one by one, the survivors attempt the
unthinkable but of course, you can pretty much guess how this movie will
end.
On Blu-ray, the HD video looks good, especially some of the CGI
effects of this train wreck waiting to happen. The transfer to Blu-ray
like all Warner Bros. films is good and there are deep black levels with
a minimal amount of snow. The audio compliments the video as well and
certain segments sound brilliant through the surround sound.
For those
who want to see how the movie was made, the Blu-ray version contains
three featurettes and a documentary. The featurettes go into the various
behind the scenes from how it was made to the challenges that lay before
them. There is even a 30-minute documentary on
how dangerous the oceans waves can be, even to ships the size of the
Poseidon.
In conclusion and when it comes to remakes, Poseidon had the
opportunity to bloom but unfortunately it lacked any true human
compassion.
It's a fun popcorn movie but the following week, you'll have forgotten
what you watched.
