Poseidon

Stripped of overt instances of exposition and character development, Poseidon is generally propelled forward by an almost relentless emphasis on larger-than-life action set pieces and an overall sense of spectacle. Like its predecessor, 1972’s The Poseidon Adventure, the film follows a group of passengers, including a former mayor (Kurt Russell’s Robert), a suicidal architect (Richard Dreyfuss’ Richard), and a jaded card shark (Josh Lucas’ Dylan), as they attempt to make their way to safety aboard a capsized luxury liner. Director Wolfgang Petersen, working from Mark Protosevich’s screenplay, effectively transforms Poseidon into a mindlessly diverting piece of summer entertainment, and although the viewer doesn’t have a whole lot invested in the fate of these characters, the brisk pace and uniformly strong cast ensure that the movie is, at the very least, rarely boring. (In terms of the latter, as good as folks like Russell and Lucas are here, it’s Dreyfuss who winds up stealing every single one of his admittedly scant scenes.) It’s ultimately rather obvious that Poseidon wouldn’t come off nearly as well as it does were it not for the efforts of Dreyfuss and his fellow actors, though Petersen once again proves that he’s a master at this sort of thing.

**1/2 out of ****