The Poseidon Adventure

One of the classics of catastrophe movies, but it didn’t make me very happy, unfortunately. The core premise is interesting, but the plot soon turns into a monotonous wandering in the bowels of the ship, which more than anything feels like playing several levels of a computer game – from one task to the next, from one room to the next (kitchen, ventilation duct, smokestack, flooded corridor), the number of characters gets lower and only those who get the furthest win (will be rescued). In short, predictable, monotonous, and rather boring as a result. The tension must have vanished over the years. (06/27/2013)

Leslie Nielsen may be at the helm of this super boat, but we won't be laughing all that much. Because once the wave comes, everything turns upside down. Literally. Many of the passengers will not survive this turn for the worse, some will change their minds, the rest will panic. It's lucky that we have a brave pastor here - and hey, he looks like Gene Hackman, he might as well be tough and proper, right? Indeed he is. And so are all those who go down with him. Great. The Poseidon Adventure is one of the best disaster films to grace the silver screen in the 1970s. It's a thrilling film, it had decent special effects for its time, with a great score by John Williams and a cast you root for, regardless of what they do. I'm giving four pure stars, raising the anchor and setting sail to see Petersen's remake. I'm curious about it. (08/20/2010)

The Poseidon Adventure is not at the forefront of the genre alongside films such as The Towering Inferno, but it is a pleasant spectacle with a series of escalating scenes, a quality cast, and the corresponding performances. The screenplay is built on a classically exposed group of characters, checking the boxes of individual human types, such as the brave hero, the self-centered macho guy as his antagonist, the submissive girl, the lively boy with his sister, etc. There's love, self-sacrifice... simply the traditional offering for this kind of film. From my point of view, the film is undermined by some unbelievable moments in the screenplay. The catastrophe itself is problematic – an earthquake, even of exceptional intensity, usually does not cause any extreme waves on the open sea, because masses of water can move over long distances and only when they collide with the coastal zone do they create massive tsunamis several dozen feet high. The capsizing of a ship could theoretically be caused by an underwater volcano explosion in close proximity or a powerful storm, but an ocean liner is a bit too big for that. Things get worse in the depiction of the passage of the ship, as a fire in an unventilated sector of a wrecked ship would obviously contaminate the entire space with toxic fumes. Similarly, the metal structures would heat up so much that I can hardly imagine the survivors moving through those corridors. The list of inconsistencies is quite long, but thanks to the preacher excellently played by Gene Hackman, it is an above-average affair. Overall impression: 65%. (01/05/2010)

An atmospheric and stylish "disaster film" of the 1970's. I.e., a dense atmosphere, an emphasis on individuality, high mortality rate of the heroes and a somewhat slow pace for today, but that’s part of it. If I compare this stylish approach to the fashion of hypertrophic trick monsters of the 1990s, The Poseidon Adventure strikes me as a truly honest and sophisticated piece of film craft, spiced up with decent acting performances. (08/22/2005)