Deepwater Horizon (2016) Mark Wahlberg, Dylan O'Brien, Kate Hudson, Kurt Russell, Gina Rodriguez, John Malkovic Movie Review

Deepwater Horizon (2016)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Deepwater Horizon (2016)

A Story of Heroes

When a technical failure causes Gulf of Mexico drilling rig Deepwater Horizon to experience a sudden, devastating blow out, electrician Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg - Lone Survivor) and the rest of the crew face a desperate fight to survive. As burning oil causes fires to spread throughout the deck, Williams risks his life to help his fellow crew as they battle through the wreckage in a valiant attempt to find a way of escaping. With the tragedy unfolding live on TV, Mike's wife, Felicia (Kate Hudson - Good People), is left to look on helplessly, unsure if she will see her husband again.

For those who don't know "Deepwater Horizon" is based on real events which took place upon an oil rig and as I have discovered with "true story" movies some times knowledge of that true story helps to make the movie that little bit more. Unfortunately I had none of that knowledge when I watched "Deepwater Horizon" and so the end result was a disaster movie with some famous faces but one with a style which whilst full of impressive effects was not focused on trying to wow purely with great visuals. And I have to say that the effects combined with at times an almost fly on the wall style makes for some big impact scenes which leave you questioning how much was old fashioned stunt work and how much was CGI.

But the strength of "Deepwater Horizon" comes from creating a sense of being there and as such whilst we have many characters, to the point you suddenly recognize a supporting actor, there is this sense of to and thro as we mainly follow just a handful of characters as the situation aboard the oil rig comes together. We have tension, humour, friendship and so much more which puts a different spin on things when the disaster truly kicks in and we have characters heroically trying to help others. It means it is never about the characters being heroes or the actors playing heroes but about the drama of the moment as things seem to be getting worse and worse.

What this all boils down to is that "Deepwater Horizon" is an exceptionally well made disaster movie based on real events with a style about it which makes it feel different to other disaster movies. But for me for this movie to really grab you, you need to be familiar with the true story before watching it.


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