Seeing the images of an oil rig in complete flames, while oil is spilling all over the Gulf Of Mexico shocked the world. It is clearly the worst oil disaster in U.S industry.
However for this film, I was not totally excited for this. But I was still expecting a solid film with nothing exceptional or memorable.
I managed to end up walking out of the screening being pretty impressed by it and shocked as to how that event happened.
The first act is very effective and well drawn which surprised me. We get introduced to the characters well and we begin to understand the reasons as to why and how the incident happened.
As we move into the second act, the tension is mounting and it teases when you think the incident begins to blow up in everyone's faces. Then the final act is what you expect in a really well made disaster movie.
What I really liked about it the most was that it felt realistic and was pretty gritty and visceral throughout, which I feel should be heavily applauded. You can feel the scale and physicality of it all. None of the incidents felt Hollywoodized, like you would see in something like a Roland Emmerich disaster movie. A lot of the incidents was done by practical effects and you can tell that they only used visual effects, if it was completely necessary.
One other thing that I think a lot of people will appreciate is that they really make you understand not just how the incident occurred. But how the oil rig industry works in general.
The performances were a real shock. I did not expect to care for these characters so much by the end of it all.
Our protagonists are very likeable. Mark Wahlberg plays the lead and main hero really well. Kurt Russell steals the show and is bad-ass throughout. His presence is so strong and his delivery of his lines were on point. Gina Rodriguez gave nice support in her character. Even Kate Hudson did well in her minor role, and I am pretty confident I have never said that. It was great to see Ethan Suplee in another role as I remember him well from his performances in American History X and Remember The Titans. It seems he's lost a lot of weight and looks really well built now. All the workers on the oil rig felt real. The chemistry is a typical sight to see in that type of working environment and it was almost as if we were watching a real-life day at an oil rig.
The antagonists were great at playing first class douchebags. It was all lead by John Malkovich, whose character you hate from pretty much the first scene he is in. I don't think I have seen Malkovich play a memorable since maybe Burn After Reading, which was eight years ago.
No real negatives to mention. It is certainly one of the best disaster films in recent years. It is heavy, hard-hitting and will leave you quite taken-a-back as soon as the credits roll. The performances are great, the action is well constructed and executed and it ended up being much more memorable then I originally expected. Most importantly, it is a great tribute to the real people involved.
If you liked films like Lone Survivor (same director as Deepwater Horizon), Everest or even Titanic. Then you will enjoy this. I know 'enjoy' might not be the right word as this topic it covers is clearly not pleasant. But it is very well made not-pleasant.
Rating: 8/10
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