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The Perfect Storm_360P

we are going to have it

By the time most people saw this film in a theater, or rented it, they already knew the ship would sink and its crew would be dead in less than two hours. Surprisingly, this diminishes not one whit from the film's power. Even on several viewings, the film never betrays a moment that is false, maudlin, or sentimental. The plot is not what keeps people engaged during this film. It is the issue. How do people face death? In this film, the people are the captain and crew of the boat. They know their job, commercial fishing, is difficult and dangerous, even in good weather. The weather is rainy. The men need the money. They go out even though they know they will meet a storm. They are used to risking their lives every day. Few people appreciate how dangerous it is to deliver that fish entrée to the table. The storm turns into a hurricane that traps the men, plays rough with them, and kills them. They struggle to save their own lives. They fail. When they are neck deep in water in a compartment of the overturned boat, they face death squarely. They talk, briefly, and unsentimentally, about things they will not be able to do, people they will miss. The stark, plainness of the acting achieves a powerful emotional effect. At the beginning of the film, the viewer meets the crew. On multiple viewings, the film reveals nothing milked -- nothing artificial. The men are solid, working people. There is no sappy foreshadowing. Director deserves kudos, for maintaining tight-fisted control of a vehicle that could have been campy, or worse. The viewer will learn a lot about meteorology, especially about hurricanes. The special effects are indistinguishable from live action. All the actors, including George Clooney, maintain a stoic, engagement with life, and they struggle to live, with no appeal to our pity, until they die. The Perfect Storm is more than a film. It is a parable.

In 1991 the crew of fishing boat the `Andrea Gail' sets sail into the Atlantic in search of fish. However they find themselves stuck with a storm front barring their way back to home. They push on regardless into one of the biggest storms ever recorded – a combination of three separate fronts coming together. This film had it's UK premier just ½ a mile from my front door in Birmingham's biggest cinema complex, Clooney came over for it himself (don't know how much he liked being able to see junction 6 of the M6 from where he landed! So at the time I did kinda want to see this film, but never got round to it. I have just seen it on video and feel that I've put the film at a disadvantage because the best thing about it (the special effects) don't work as well on a 21 inch screen as on a cinema screen. The plot is based on a true story but from my understanding is pretty fictionalised given the outcome. That's not a problem however as it isn't a solemn tribute to these men – just a record of the storm itself. The fact that it's focus is the storm IS the problem. For the first hour we catch fish, fight on the board, bond with family etc and generally try to build these fishermen into characters and not fodder like a disaster movie. This is painfully slow and didn't work for me – I was interested in the men but it seemed to me that the film wasn't. The first half wasn't spend getting to know the crew, rather it just felt guilty to rush into action – this isn't an action movie after all, it is a TRUE story! Therefore I felt that the film thought it owed the characters something. The second half is actually pretty good but it's all due to the seamless effects and some good direction. The waves look real and even on my TV I got into the tension and fear of the storm. However the film leaves the fishing boat for most of the tensest scenes and joins the rescue efforts in other areas – the Andrea Gail is actually used surprisingly little in the second half considering the focus of the first half. My one problem with the effects is the same one I had with mission Impossible – we've already seen the money shot in the trailers and adverts etc. Here the money shot is the huge wave itself – and I felt robbed that I'd seen that on the poster and on the TV. The heavyweight cast are all solid actors – from the stars to the support names. However they can't compete with the effects. I mean Bob Gunton is a good actor when he is given the chance but here he is only ever seen in the midst of a rolling boat or in the sea! Clooney and Walberg are both good and it's good that they did something a little different from a traditional action movie. The rest of the crew are also all good in the first half – what do you expect from names like Fichtner, Reilly, Payne and Hawkes. But again in the second half they are simply thrown around on a massive soundstage. The one thing I must praise is that they meet the end of the film with dignity and no-one goes after a hammy exit. The women are left with the worst roles – all they can do is look weepy and stare out to sea. Mastrantonio gets to sail a boat but that's about it for her. Karen Allen and Diane Lane are both wasted and landlubber Michael Ironside turns up just long enough to sneer and collect his cheque. Overall the first hour drags a little despite the strong cast making up the crew of the Andrea Gail. The second half is good but only because the effects are so powerful that you'll get caught up in the storm yourself. However when it was all over I was left wondering what I'd just seen – it looks like it's a true story and a drama but really it is just another summer effects movie (except this one is a little less fun that the others). At the end of the day, despite it's odd strong point I found this to be a perfect storm in a teacup.

This film appears to epitomize the string of films of the last years of the 20th Century where the structured story has been replaced by a blaze of stunning visual effects. The literate directors, who once brought us audience pleasing, soul-satisfying stories, seem to have vanished the way of the American Bison. What has emerged is an empty, soulless presentation of eye-popping scenes tied to nothing at all. Here, we are introduced to meaningless characters not developed enough for us to feel an affinity. When they move on into the insipid, formless story, we find ourselves impatiently waiting for the only possible satisfaction, the remarkable visual presentation of the storm with its exciting rescue scenes. It might be that Frank Capra's dictum to filmmakers, `Give ‘em something to put in their pocket to take home with 'em ' is now truly passé. We leave the theater feeling like we just saw an awesome fireworks, but one that afterward we scarcely think about, and one essentially not worth two or more hours of our lives, for we have gained nothing. We are uninspired, unmotivated and have learned nothing about life. We are empty inside. We have experienced The Perfect Zero.

I first saw this in the early 2k. Revisited it recently. The movie indeed looked as if the events are truly happening in an ocean experiencing a monstrous storm. The star cast is amazing n all gave good performances.

No argument with the film's description: "Atlantic swells form 100-foot walls. Wind shrieks at a maxed-out Force 12. In October 1991 three raging weather fronts - one of them Hurricane Grace - combine to form the greatest storm in recorded history. George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg lead a talented cast in this harrowing special-effects adventure that intercuts the plight of seafarers struggling to reach safe harbor with the heroics of air/sea rescue crews. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, 'The Perfect Storm' tosses excitement your way in waves." There is an abundance of stormy special effects, but not enough character development. Mr. Wahlberg gets the best of the lackluster subplots, in romantic scenes with Diane Lane (as Christina Cotter). But, even this is lacking - where'd the black eye come from, anyway, rough sex? The intercutting of characters we know next-to-nothing about (in the other boats and helicopters) is sometimes confusing; and, however exciting, it make no sense because, obviously more time should have been spent showing the six main "Andrea Gail" seafarers. ***** The Perfect Storm (6/26/00) Wolfgang Petersen ~ George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane

I'd recently seen Pearl Harbour and didn't think it was possible to make a weaker poorer film, how wrong I was. The fact that I actually laughed out loud about 6 times should give some indication. Spoilers The first 40 minutes of the film is where 6 cardboard characters my 2 year old daughter could have written more realistically, show what great loving genuine people they all are, just trying to earn a crust. When the boat finally leaves dock, anyone would think they are flying the first mission to Mars, such is the ridiculous over the top emotion of the whole thing. Isn't this their profession, having they done it countless times before. My God, imagine everyone did this on the way to work. Ok, first 40 mins over, poor, but here's the real deal, the storm. Oh dear, the characters continue to act in the most stereotype manner, I surprised they didn't throw in the standard token black man and make him save a crew member. Anyway the funniest part of the movie was when the anchor broke free. GC decided the only way to deal with this problem was to climb up the end of a bouncing poll, with a welding torch, to cut the anchor, in the middle of the worst storm ever, absolutely hilarious. Anyway, I assumed someone survived and that was how the producers knew the events that took place, ah, no. Surely it must be illegal to say 'based on a true story' when the whole thing made up apart from the names of the characters. Film making at it's absolute worst, so bad, 0/10.

Based on Sebastian Junger's best-seller, Petersen's motion picture relates the well known true story of six brave fishermen who really fought for survival with all their heart, skill and tenacity… The hurricane hits full force just as their ice machine breaks down, leaving the six men onboard with two choices: Let all of the fish they have caught spoil and hang out for a few days till it calms down, or try to salvage their income and pride by navigating 'right for the middle of a monster.' It's a film of high drama, tragedy, hubris, and one of Mother Nature's nastiest hurricane on record… There is the bad weather, the constant danger of mechanical failure, the perils of controlling a crew of strong and colorful men, not to mention the threat of the fishing itself in raging waters George Clooney is excellent as the disappointed skipper who couldn't know the true price of fish, and whose dignity is wounded because he can't find fish on familiar waters... The women left on the shore include a friendly rival captain with better luck; a worried woman afraid to lose her man to the cruel sea; a caring mother begging her precious boy to be careful; and a sweet single mom who shows up dockside the next morning to say goodbye "The Perfect Storm" may be considered one of the great sea movies… It is a terrifying adventure with thrilling images: The shark attack on the deck of the Gail; Captain Tyne's exploits while trying to repair a broken mast; the remarkable bravery of a chopper crew riding the scary waves to save three lives trapped on a small luxury yacht; and the mid-air refueling attempt for a rescue helicopter thwarted by strong winds… The 'Andrea Gail' was pushed straight into raging waters where the real fish are