Reviews

I'm calling this an "experience" rather than a "review", because a review wouldn't really encapsulate how enjoyable this movie is. If I was forced to review the movie, I'd talk about how slow it is in the beginning, how although some of the dialog is witty quite a lot of it is hackneyed (a scene with SLJ telling JM to "Be strong" was especially cringe-worthy), and the climax didn't have a lot of tension and was a bit disappointing. Five stars out of ten sounds about right, and is perhaps a bit generous.

But I came out of the movie with a smile on my face, because it was fun. The audience was really, really into it. When the title of the movie appeared, everyone cheered (I haven't seen that happen in a movie theater since Episode 1). Every over-the-top "death by snake" was cheered and applauded. The people who were going to die were fairly easily identified, and people eagerly awaited their death scenes. (In a nod to the movie writers, I expected one character to die for being a complete jerk, and they surprised me by having that character survive.) And, as could be expected, when SLJ delivers his much-discussed line towards the end of the film, the audience cheered throughout its entire delivery. I laughed; it was just fun to listen to the audience.

This is not a movie you download via BitTorrent. This is not a movie you watch on cable, or rent via DVD. This is a movie you watch in a crowded movie theater. Because only then will it be fun; only then will the energy of the movie and the audience make the experience worthwhile.

I went into this movie with low expectations. Perhaps because of that, I ended up enjoying myself more than I expected.

The movie gets off to a bad start. Each character gets a total of five lines of dialogue to "establish" themselves. The scriptwriters evidently considered characterization an onerous task that needed to be gotten out of the way as quickly as possible. As soon as everyone's had their five lines, the rogue wave hits.

From that moment on, the movie sprints into fast-paced action and never stops. They don't waste one second, it seems like - no sooner is one danger overcome when another presents itself. By not giving us time to stop (and think), the movie maintains its momentum right until the end.

There isn't much that's original, evoking "True Lies", "Armageddon", and, of course, the original "Poseidon Adventure". Still, the movie's action scenes are well-constructed and evenly paced, and if you allow yourself to get caught up in it, you'll have a good ride.

This movie isn't a masterpiece, nor is it likely to be remembered for years like the original was. But for a mindless ninety-minute adventure movie it's not bad. I'd say it's worth the price of admission, so long as you set your expectations correctly.

This movie approaches an incredibly sensitive subject in an entirely appropriate manner: with subtlety and understatement.

The actors look like real people and talk like real people talk. There are no dramatic exclamations. Even the signature "Let's roll" line is stated almost in passing without any special significance being brought to it. The movie was utterly convincing in portraying how real people would have responded. There were no Bruce Willis or Wesley Snipe types amongst the passengers; they were ordinary folk in extraordinary situations, responding the best way they could.

Kudos to the filmmakers for not allowing this to become an overwrought melodrama. Instead, we saw a glimpse into the confusion and pain of people in the middle of the events of 9/11. Because it was understated, because it felt real, the impact was much stronger and gut-wrenching.