By Angel:
Movie Description:
“A dramatization of the April 2010 disaster when the offshore drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, exploded and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history.”
Experience:
My expectations for this film were above average because I loved the previous collaboration from Director Peter Berg and actor Mark Wahlberg which was Lone Survivor. With the addition of Kurt Russell and John Malkovich, I assumed I would be seeing some powerhouse performances within this compelling story. Let’s get started!
Story:
This story is extremely tragic and my heart hurts for the victims of the incident. I wasn’t immersed with the film until the climax occurred which was the explosion. That’s the one thing this film did brilliantly, which was the disaster. My goodness, the editing, technical, and stunt work for the disaster set piece was one of the most effective stunts I’ve ever seen. It feel very authentic and horrifying, almost impossible to believe these men survived, which is what made that aspect work so well.
Before the event, the film attempts to allows us to get to know the crew. Unfortunately, the majority of that time was used for arguments about the PSI regarding the oil rig in order to set up the villainous role. I noticed more effort into the disaster then into the characters and allowing us to get to know them. I wasn’t on the edge of my seat until after the eruption of the rig.
Performances:
Mark Wahlberg can bring it when he decides to for a role. For example, in The Departed, he became this character who was subtle, intimidating, and hilarious. In this film, I think he’s barely given any room to show his range as an actor due to the writing. His performance was generic.
The standout for me was Kurt Russell. He is simply just awesome and is just an incredible presence on screen. Russell nailed the accent he had perfectly.
John Malkovich is a legendary actor, but gave one of the worst performances I have seen this year. Malkovich was miscast due to the accent of the character. He was doing this Cajun accent and it was not working at all. Malkovich’s voice already is extremely distinct, because of that, it kept breaking his accent throughout each sentence he spoke.
I was nervous Kate Hudson would take me out of the film, but she definitely gave some decent scenes where I completely believed her emotions.
Themes:
Some messages I interpreted from the film were hope and the act of being selfless. Wahlberg’s character embodied that as a result to the disaster and I found that characteristic very inspiring as it can be reflected and incorporated into anyone’s actions when it comes to daily life.
Overall:
I loved Kurt Russell’s performance and how the explosion was handled in this film along with the themes that were expressed. The rest of the film fell flat because it didn’t have focus on everything else equally with depth. Deepwater Horizon felt like it had two acts: briefly meet the crew and watch the explosion. My rating for this film is 7.5/10!
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