It is important to point out that this new film is only based on THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE ... it is not a remake. When a passenger ship (named Poseidon) is hit by a large wave on New Years Eve and capsizes, a handful of people struggle to escape. Other than that, do not expect any similarities -- not one character, not one line of dialog, not one scene...
I first saw the original film when I was ten years old and have been a huge fan ever since. Surely TPA (as imperfect as it may be), was the catalyst that spurred my interest in ocean liners, architecture, classical music ... and Art Deco design. Therefore, I was excited about the latest film -- and pleased that it had been given to a talented director. I knew that the film and its characters had been changed/updated and was cool with that. But after viewing the new film twice now, I feel a bit let down.
I don't want to touch on the stale characters. Although it is a major flaw, that subject has already been addressed again and again on this board.
The cast (with the exception of Dreyfuss) are ALL buff and beautiful -- no fatties or uglies here. Of course, some of the physical obstacles in this film would require the endurance of a champion athlete and the bravado of a Schwarzenegger action hero! This is definitely not the motley group of survivors found in the original.
The CGI graphics were very good. The ship was beautiful in a glitzy Las Vegas sort of way ... but the Poseidon never seemed very "real" to me. Perhaps it was all those overly elaborate CGI camera shots? Not really sure why. The Titanic certainly seemed "real" in TITANIC. But for me, the Poseidon seemed as plastic as the people on it.
The capsizing sequence was stunning, but so many areas of the ship were highlighted in such a short time that I never really felt I was part of the action. There were no screaming passengers clinging/falling from overturned tables. No man falling backwards onto an illuminated skylight (a famous cinematic scene). And no Christmas tree!?! The Christmas tree played a pivotal role in the original film ... from passengers falling into it during the capsizing ... to it unexpectedly crashing down ... to the survivors climbing it (and Mrs. Rosen getting stuck in the spokes) ... to it falling back into the flooding Dining Room when panic ensues! Why leave it out entirely when there are so many cinematic possibilities? Instead the characters in the new film "sneak out" of the Ballroom using some stacked chairs. There is absolutely no plea for others to join them even though they know that anyone left behind may die. I suppose it says something about today's society ... "I'm getting out of here -- to hell with everyone else!". But these guys are supposed to be the heroes in the film?
Don't expect much humor in this film either. I really missed the funny scene with the upside-down bathroom set. I can't imagine not working that into the new movie! But these new action-survivors don't seem to require toilets ... or rest. They keep going and going -- through one unrealistic scenario one after another!
It was strange that the survivors find heaps of dead bodies everywhere they go, but never any other survivors. A ship this size would be expected to have over 4000 people on-board. Where are they? When our survivors merge in the Nightclub/Disco, they then struggle to find an escape route. So where did the 200-300 other people who left the room moments earlier go? And why can't our survivors seem to find a staircase/elevator core on this ship? Every modern passenger ship has several -- found every 200-feet or so. There is always one adjacent to the atrium (in addition to the grand stairway and glass elevators). Perhaps all the other people immediately ran up one of the usually ever-present staircases and escaped out a porthole hours earlier? That would certainly explain the absence of other people...
I must admit that I missed John William's music from the original. I wonder why he wasn't hired to update his existing TPA score -- dramatic in all the right places and the deep "bell" sound accompanying the music is indeed haunting. And wouldn't it be fun for all us old-timers if they had used "The Morning After" (Academy Award-winning song from the original) and updated it in the new film?
As fun as the original film may have been, I know that it is flawed, so some rewriting would be expected. And the producers obviously felt the need to update the original film to appeal to modern movie (and cruising) audiences. But this new version seems soulless. I feel that they may have been better off setting the film in 1972 and using the original campy script! That wonderful, but cheesy, dialog ran the gamut from the ridiculous to the sublime! Some of the quotes are classics! The new film's dialog is completely forgettable.
I suppose that this new film is fine if you are not expecting much. I was obviously hoping that Petersen would turn the original film into another TITANIC. But this POSEIDON is what it is ... a mindless summer action movie with dazzling special effects. Should appeal to teenagers. Though it is doubtful that this new film will inspire many youths or ever become a cult classic. And decades from now, will it have web pages, fan clubs and conventions devoted to it?
Actually, I'm guessing that by this time next year, this POSEIDON will be largely forgotten ... as it should be.
I first saw the original film when I was ten years old and have been a huge fan ever since. Surely TPA (as imperfect as it may be), was the catalyst that spurred my interest in ocean liners, architecture, classical music ... and Art Deco design. Therefore, I was excited about the latest film -- and pleased that it had been given to a talented director. I knew that the film and its characters had been changed/updated and was cool with that. But after viewing the new film twice now, I feel a bit let down.
I don't want to touch on the stale characters. Although it is a major flaw, that subject has already been addressed again and again on this board.
The cast (with the exception of Dreyfuss) are ALL buff and beautiful -- no fatties or uglies here. Of course, some of the physical obstacles in this film would require the endurance of a champion athlete and the bravado of a Schwarzenegger action hero! This is definitely not the motley group of survivors found in the original.
The CGI graphics were very good. The ship was beautiful in a glitzy Las Vegas sort of way ... but the Poseidon never seemed very "real" to me. Perhaps it was all those overly elaborate CGI camera shots? Not really sure why. The Titanic certainly seemed "real" in TITANIC. But for me, the Poseidon seemed as plastic as the people on it.
The capsizing sequence was stunning, but so many areas of the ship were highlighted in such a short time that I never really felt I was part of the action. There were no screaming passengers clinging/falling from overturned tables. No man falling backwards onto an illuminated skylight (a famous cinematic scene). And no Christmas tree!?! The Christmas tree played a pivotal role in the original film ... from passengers falling into it during the capsizing ... to it unexpectedly crashing down ... to the survivors climbing it (and Mrs. Rosen getting stuck in the spokes) ... to it falling back into the flooding Dining Room when panic ensues! Why leave it out entirely when there are so many cinematic possibilities? Instead the characters in the new film "sneak out" of the Ballroom using some stacked chairs. There is absolutely no plea for others to join them even though they know that anyone left behind may die. I suppose it says something about today's society ... "I'm getting out of here -- to hell with everyone else!". But these guys are supposed to be the heroes in the film?
Don't expect much humor in this film either. I really missed the funny scene with the upside-down bathroom set. I can't imagine not working that into the new movie! But these new action-survivors don't seem to require toilets ... or rest. They keep going and going -- through one unrealistic scenario one after another!
It was strange that the survivors find heaps of dead bodies everywhere they go, but never any other survivors. A ship this size would be expected to have over 4000 people on-board. Where are they? When our survivors merge in the Nightclub/Disco, they then struggle to find an escape route. So where did the 200-300 other people who left the room moments earlier go? And why can't our survivors seem to find a staircase/elevator core on this ship? Every modern passenger ship has several -- found every 200-feet or so. There is always one adjacent to the atrium (in addition to the grand stairway and glass elevators). Perhaps all the other people immediately ran up one of the usually ever-present staircases and escaped out a porthole hours earlier? That would certainly explain the absence of other people...
I must admit that I missed John William's music from the original. I wonder why he wasn't hired to update his existing TPA score -- dramatic in all the right places and the deep "bell" sound accompanying the music is indeed haunting. And wouldn't it be fun for all us old-timers if they had used "The Morning After" (Academy Award-winning song from the original) and updated it in the new film?
As fun as the original film may have been, I know that it is flawed, so some rewriting would be expected. And the producers obviously felt the need to update the original film to appeal to modern movie (and cruising) audiences. But this new version seems soulless. I feel that they may have been better off setting the film in 1972 and using the original campy script! That wonderful, but cheesy, dialog ran the gamut from the ridiculous to the sublime! Some of the quotes are classics! The new film's dialog is completely forgettable.
I suppose that this new film is fine if you are not expecting much. I was obviously hoping that Petersen would turn the original film into another TITANIC. But this POSEIDON is what it is ... a mindless summer action movie with dazzling special effects. Should appeal to teenagers. Though it is doubtful that this new film will inspire many youths or ever become a cult classic. And decades from now, will it have web pages, fan clubs and conventions devoted to it?
Actually, I'm guessing that by this time next year, this POSEIDON will be largely forgotten ... as it should be.