"Poseidon"

I've been looking forward to "Poseidon" ever since I heard they were making the movie. Based on the 1972 all-star cast hit "The Poseidon Adventure", this remake had me anxious to see if it could be as good as the original.

The original truly was chocked full of stars: Gene Hackman, Earnest Bordenign, Shelly Winters, Roddy McDowell, Pamela Sue Martin. Being one of several 'disaster movies' of its time, I believe it had the most celebrities. 'Towering Inferno' and 'Airport 77' only had a few celebrities in them.

I remember seeing "The Poseidon Adventure" as a kid. I was about 8 when it came out. Since it takes place on New Year's Eve, over the years TV stations have often shown it on New Year's Eve. Any and every time I discover its on TV, I always watch it. I don't know why, but I have a strange, 'cult-classic' attraction to this movie.

In case you've been living in a cultural vacuum and haven't seen the original ("The Poseidon Adventure"), a huge title wave strikes a cruise ship and it capsizes. A small group of people struggle to make their way to the highest point in the ship in order to survive. Eventually some of them make it to the ship's hull where rescuers cut a hole and get them out.

In the remake (simply called "Poseidon") the plot is basically the same, although many of the characters and details are different, including the ending. In the original, much more time is spent developing the characters. As they struggle to survive, we learn about their other, more emotional struggles. We find out their history, and we come to care about them. Although a nice feature in the original, I believe I prefer the 'less personal' and much more fast-paced style of the remake. There's more action and less personal history. I'm surprised to hear myself say this, but in this kind of movie, I really feel like the story is better served without all of the personal baggage. In the original it slows the movie down and gives you a chance to relax. In the remake, without these 'rest periods' we're kept on edge, with adrenaline flowing as fast as the ocean pouring into the upside down ship.

And the special affects! Oh... my... god... The capsizing of the ship and all the chaos and mayhem that go with it are absolutely brilliant! Don't be surprised to see this film nominated for awards for its special affects. I'm a person who does NOT like a lot of computer-generated stuff in my movies. This movie seems so believable that its difficult to perceive where computer-generation is used versus the use of models and distant cameras. I thought it was incredibly real-looking and well done.

I think "Poseidon" certainly did justice to its predecessor "The Poseidon Adventure". Although not a modern 'duplicate', it pays homage to the classic while making use of modern cinemagraphic techniques to produce a new, fresh version.

Don't wait for this to come to DVD - see this one on the BIG SCREEN!