Poseidon

Back in the Seventies, the disaster flick was almost as prominent as the Western, or the war movie, and they had a few hits (The Towering Inferno, Airport, Earthquake), but one of them for me stood out the most and that was The Poseidon Adventure. I won't ever forget Gene Hackman risking his life for the other survivors, or Ernest Borgnine arguing with someone, even though he was minutes from the possibility of death.

It's now 2006 and a remake is upon us. And, unlike the others that came before, it's really good.

The passengers on board the ocean liner Poseidon are celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the new, but for some the celebrations will end when the rogue wave hits. A handful of survivors, led by Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell) and Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas), have to make their way off the ship to safety before they are dragged to the bottom of the ocean.

Most disaster flicks come in at around the two-hour mark, or in some cases just over that, but director Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, The Perfect Storm, Troy) has crammed in everything to just over 90 minutes. Not missing a beat, he has taken all the suspense from the original and brought it forward into an updated classic. The characters are likeable and, when they find themselves in a tight situation, you can't help but feel for them. The ship itself is beautiful to look at in the opening scenes and the detail put into its destruction is just as amazing.

The characters range from the always watchable Russell and Richard Dreyfuss (Richard Nelson) to Lucas (great in this, although cheesy as hell in Stealth), and some fairly new faces. Jacinda Barrett (Maggie James), Mike Vogel (Christian), Emmy Rossum (Jennifer Ramsey - as annoying here as she was in The Day After Tomorrow), Jimmy Bennett (Conor James) and the lovely Mia Maestro (Elena). There is also a special appearance by the lead female from The Black Eyed Peas.

All in all, this is a really enjoyable hour and a half.