Deepwater Horizon (2016)

You won't be disappointed!

Too much of everything

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

This boring movie only deals with the events happening up untill the explosion.A bunch of rednecks, whose southern accent I could only understand with subtitles on, works on an oilrig. *SPOILERS AHEAD*A boss, played by always slimey John Malkovic,h is responsible for the accident, al though Im not sure how. There is alot of technical mumbo jumbo that only makes sense for people working on oilrigs. Mark Whalberg plays Mark Whalberg and Kate Hudson plays his annoying wife whose only job is to worry if her husband survived. Kurt Russel plays another boss, but he is one of the goodguys for some reason. If you expect an actionmovie you will be dissapointed. Nothing happens for 51 minutes. Youre introduced to alot of rednecks that you wont get to know or care about despite the movie taking its time before the explosion. And when the action does happen, its hard to tell whats going on, because its dark and there is alot of shaky cam. Afterwards there are videoes from a hearing and investigation into the accident. The characters played by Whalberg and Russel looks nothing like the real characters. Which is lazy and dumb. The impact on the environment from the explosion isn only dealt with, showing a pelican covered in oil and dying. And a text saying it was the worst oil disaster in US history. And then we see pictures of the real 11 killed rednecks with some annoying countrysong playing in the background. This movie doesnt know wether it wants to be drama or an actionmovie. And as a result its neither. Not worth watching.

Don't be confused: above all else, Deepwater Horizon is a disaster film. Unsuspecting characters mingle harmlessly and provide exposition about themselves and their surroundings to allow a second-half non-stop action fest. There are movies that follow the formula conventionally and do a good job at it, others do a poor job at it, and even some others try putting a twist on the formula. This film-for the most part-is successful. For a clear disaster film, what works the most is actually the beginning. It takes awhile for the action to start happening, so this means we have to care about the characters so that we're worried about their fates when death closes in in the second half. The writing is solid and engaging, Wahlberg has chemistry with everyone, and Kurt Russell brings the soul and spirit into the film. John Malkovich plays a rather conventional white collar antagonist, but needless to say, the buildup for the inevitable is really well done. If you've been living under a rock for the past decade, I'll quickly explain the point of this film. In 2010 an offshore oil rig exploded and resulted in the worst oil spill in U.S. history. This is the story of the workers on-board when it happened, and how pressure from executives to meet deadlines and cut costs ultimately led to the explosions that tragically killed and injured too many. The set for the film is basically the biggest ever used in a film, and it certainly adds to the film. There are plenty of shots of ordinary workers doing their job when mud and oil rumbles and rumbles until it finally blows. And it's presented without holding back. This is a very strong PG-13 film as you watch workers blown back, saved by their helmets; they desperately try containing the oil that blocks their vision and slips them up. I'm simplifying the action and don't want to describe everything that goes on, but trust me when I say that this film is engaging from start to finish. The climax was predictable, and therefore lacked some tension, but your heart will race as you root for the characters you spent the first half of the film getting to know. The movie won't revolutionize anything, but that doesn't have to stop it from being a solid film. It's a disaster film you will enjoy watching, only amplified by the well-known fallout that took place afterward. It's a testament to tell the story of real people in an unbelievably traumatizing situation, and for executing it with confidence and poise, I applaud the filmmakers and their efforts. You can find this review and dozens of others at gillipediamoviereviews.blogspot.com

The film makers wisely focus their main effort on portraying the very real dangers involved in the offshore E&P business (even down to bird strikes that can play havoc with equipment) and how things can so easily go wrong, risking the lives of the people at the front end. Unfortunately, they did fall into the trap of following the US business and government narrative at the time, throwing all the blame onto a foreign oil company that was making serious inroads into 'their' business. While not wishing to excuse BP from their significant responsibility, subsequent investigations have shown culpability in the series of errors that led to the disaster to be shared among a number of companies involved, most of them American. Nevertheless, since the film mainly follows the technical complexity of the operations taking place and reactions under the severest stress, it is an action movie that stands as an effective tribute to those 11 men who died so tragically, as well as the heroism and professional competence of many of those who survived. My main spoiler is to point out that the Wahlberg character, while representing a specific individual, actually incorporated several individuals on the platform and is shown doing numerous things that were actually done by others. Why can't Hollywood just recognise the heroism in most people, working together as a team, instead of concentrating it into a single superhero? This is supposed to be a 'real-world' event, after all!

In this age, it is not easy to create films about catastrophes, without sliding into expensive but uninteresting CGI effects, or getting cheap and nasty. Deepwater Horizon is a very fine example of exquisite balance between excellent actors' performances (Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Mark Walberg and Kate Hudson all show definite depth and sophisticated valor, depicting their parts decently and with a great gusto) and awesome CGI effects. Without going deeper into technical details, I have to admit the film has achieved its main goal - to show true heroism, valor, valiance and also cowardice and shallowness in the wake of doom and death. Excellent depiction of Lousiana nature, exactly right balance of mundane, tragic, heroic and stupid all add certain flavor to the very tough and nutritious broth of a film. I do recommend this fast, deeply tragic, decent and sobering film to all who want to think and would like to watch something serious and thought-provoking.