Poseidon (2006)

Director:

Wolfgang Petersen

Writers (WGA):

Mark Protosevich (screenplay)
Paul Gallico (novel)

Release Date:

12 May 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Mayday

Plot:

On New Year's Eve, the luxury ocean liner, Poseidon, capsizes after being swamped by a rogue wave. The survivors are left to fight for survival as they attempt to escape the sinking ship.

Plot Keywords:

Passenger | Cruise | New Year's Eve | Cruise Ship | Single Mother

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 nominations

Cast

Josh Lucas	...	Dylan Johns
Kurt Russell	...	Robert Ramsey
Jacinda Barrett	...	Maggie James
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Richard Nelson
Emmy Rossum	...	Jennifer Ramsey
Mía Maestro	...	Elena Morales
Mike Vogel	...	Christian
Kevin Dillon	...	Lucky Larry
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Marco Valentin
Jimmy Bennett	...	Conor James
Stacy Ferguson	...	Gloria
Andre Braugher	...	Captain Bradford
Kirk B.R. Woller	...	Chief Officer Reynolds
Kelly McNair	...	Emily
Gabriel Jarret	...	1st Officer Chapman

Also Known As:

Poseidon: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version)
The Poseidon Adventure (USA) (working title)
Poseidón (Argentina) (Spain) (Venezuela) [es]
Посейдон (Russia) [ru]
Le Poséidon (Canada: French title) [fr]
Poséidon (France) [fr]
Poseidon (Germany) [de]
Poseidon (Brazil) [pt]
Poseidon (Greece) [el]
Poseidon'dan kaçis (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Posejdon (Croatia) (wide-release title) [hr]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense prolonged sequences of disaster and peril.

Runtime:

98 min | Philippines:98 min (cut) | Germany:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Sonics-DDP (IMAX version) | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Singapore:PG | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-11 | Portugal:M/12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42617) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Hungary:16 | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:15 | Brazil:12 | Norway:15 | Germany:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Hong Kong:IIA | South Korea:12 | Venezuela:PG-13 | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

There was only one day of exterior filming done on the entire shoot. It was to get footage of Josh Lucas jogging that was eventually composited into the opening CG shot of the ship.

Goofs:

Continuity: Watch the Captain just after he introduces Gloria. There is a shot of him stepping off the stairs at the side of the stage and walking towards the crowd, clapping. They show a closeup of Gloria, then a shot from the balcony. If you look at the side of the stage, the Captain is walking off it again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Christian: When?
Jennifer Ramsey: Mmm. Today.
Christian: Yeah. When today?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Will & Grace: Whatever Happened to Baby Gin? (#8.22)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

$140 million apparently doesn't buy a good script

I attended an IMAX screening with a group of friends and family on opening day. Some of us are fans of the original. At least one had seen neither the original nor the Hallmark miniseries. One thing became clear early on in this film: a sky-high budget isn't worth a bucket of seawater if the characters aren't interesting or involving.

On New Year's Eve, the ocean liner, Poseidon, is capsized by an enormous rogue wave that appears without warning. Seems all the sophisticated equipment on the bridge doesn't include reliable radar targeting; rather, the wall of water is detected Carnac-style by a bridge officer, and then spotted by a depressed passenger inches away from taking his life by jumping overboard (the audience laughed out loud during the former instance). What follows is the life-and-death struggle of a handful of wealthy Caucasian, er, I mean, assorted passengers through the fiery, waterlogged bowels of the overturned ship, as they attempt to reach and escape through one of the bow thrusters. Who are these people? I couldn't tell you, because at least one person in our group fell asleep during the film, and afterward, the rest of us could barely remember any of the leads' names or backstories. We learn nothing about the central characters by the end of the film that we didn't already know or sense in the opening introductions. Storytelling is dead in Hollywood.

The Poseidon Adventure, starring Gene Hackman, is still loved by many decades after its release, because the creative forces behind that project breathed life into the characters and crafted a solid film. Wolfgang Petersen's reimaging, Poseidon, will be forgotten faster than yesterday's breakfast buffet aboard the Pacific Princess, for exactly the opposite reason. It's yet another exercise in CGI gimmickry, and a hollow voyage to nowhere.