Ahoy, shipmates, and I'm really glad that you are all not amongst the many who perished aboard the Southampton built POSEIDON.
We've just come back from a matinée and we all of us found the movie to be awesome. Some of the critics and other reviewers got things wrong here and there (which is annoying to a professional film critic), but I know sometimes you gotta see a movie more than once.
I totally respect the opinions of folks here who found it falling far short of our beloved original or just plain bad, but I really enjoyed this ride. A few things for now - and I think I can avoid any spoilers today:
1. The film was better than Petersen's "The Perfect Storm." In that film (probably out of some respect to its real-life casualties), we never really see what happens to the guys aboard altogether.
2. There is a character on board POSEIDON who is a lot like the 72 film's Linda Rogo, but with a twist!
3. Despite the fact the rogue wave comes so early in the film, we most certainly do learn so much about the characters who climb up through the ship and we certainly do care about them, especially when they are in peril and when some folks do not make it.
4. This is a non-stop "ride" if you will, and you will not be bored.
5. The film, in part due to its musical soundtrack, pulls a lot of emotion out of you, and I was often close to tears from the very beginning: knowing the great ship is doomed, seeing so many passengers and crew excited about New Year's, and the fact that music plays whilst the ship is capsizing.
6. There are plenty of rearranged bits from the original incorporated in POSEIDON, including dialog and the looks on people's faces during the course of the climb. And touches from Paul Gallico's book missing in the original return here.
7. One of the most impacting moments of the film is the silent exchange between two certain characters when one of them reopens an elevator shaft.
8. This film's characters have a lot of guilt written on their faces and there are moments, too, where what is not said is even more effective. For that, I say, the acting is generally very good.
9. Death visits every part of the ship and it isn't pretty. It's realistic and reminds us that when entertainment is so close to reality we are -- as was often the case with Hitchcock's films -- morally implicated by watching the spectacle.
10. There is a character in the film who is rather like Nonnie.
11. The line from the book about the ship seeming to be retching her bowels in mortal agony is not a one-time deal. It is repeated again and again and you do "care" for the ship as well as its characters.
12. When Gloria performs her songs (which are tailored to the tale just as "The Morning After" was), you want to get up and dance with the rest of the passengers. Party!
That's it for right now and I await more views on the film by my shipmates, but I will add one SPOILER, but you can avoid it by not scrolling down too far.
Whew! What an entertaining film!
Captain and Stowaway,
Frederic Kahler, founder of http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ssposeidon/
13. **SPOILER ALERT** The gay guy doesn't die in the end! Finally!
We've just come back from a matinée and we all of us found the movie to be awesome. Some of the critics and other reviewers got things wrong here and there (which is annoying to a professional film critic), but I know sometimes you gotta see a movie more than once.
I totally respect the opinions of folks here who found it falling far short of our beloved original or just plain bad, but I really enjoyed this ride. A few things for now - and I think I can avoid any spoilers today:
1. The film was better than Petersen's "The Perfect Storm." In that film (probably out of some respect to its real-life casualties), we never really see what happens to the guys aboard altogether.
2. There is a character on board POSEIDON who is a lot like the 72 film's Linda Rogo, but with a twist!
3. Despite the fact the rogue wave comes so early in the film, we most certainly do learn so much about the characters who climb up through the ship and we certainly do care about them, especially when they are in peril and when some folks do not make it.
4. This is a non-stop "ride" if you will, and you will not be bored.
5. The film, in part due to its musical soundtrack, pulls a lot of emotion out of you, and I was often close to tears from the very beginning: knowing the great ship is doomed, seeing so many passengers and crew excited about New Year's, and the fact that music plays whilst the ship is capsizing.
6. There are plenty of rearranged bits from the original incorporated in POSEIDON, including dialog and the looks on people's faces during the course of the climb. And touches from Paul Gallico's book missing in the original return here.
7. One of the most impacting moments of the film is the silent exchange between two certain characters when one of them reopens an elevator shaft.
8. This film's characters have a lot of guilt written on their faces and there are moments, too, where what is not said is even more effective. For that, I say, the acting is generally very good.
9. Death visits every part of the ship and it isn't pretty. It's realistic and reminds us that when entertainment is so close to reality we are -- as was often the case with Hitchcock's films -- morally implicated by watching the spectacle.
10. There is a character in the film who is rather like Nonnie.
11. The line from the book about the ship seeming to be retching her bowels in mortal agony is not a one-time deal. It is repeated again and again and you do "care" for the ship as well as its characters.
12. When Gloria performs her songs (which are tailored to the tale just as "The Morning After" was), you want to get up and dance with the rest of the passengers. Party!
That's it for right now and I await more views on the film by my shipmates, but I will add one SPOILER, but you can avoid it by not scrolling down too far.
Whew! What an entertaining film!
Captain and Stowaway,
Frederic Kahler, founder of http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ssposeidon/
13. **SPOILER ALERT** The gay guy doesn't die in the end! Finally!
