Deepwater Horizon

Peter Berg makes movies, but he also knows a lot about deep-water oil exploration. He'd have to, considering how complicated this dangerous activity is, and how well he handled those complexities and portrayed that danger in his film. Berg directed "Deepwater Horizon" (PG-13, 1:47), the dramatization of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil rig explosion which killed 11 people and resulted in the largest oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and the biggest environmental disaster in U.S. history. A combination of faulty equipment and human error caused the disaster. Methane gas escaping up the rig's pipes enveloped it, ignited and eventually consumed the rig, which burned until sinking into the ocean 36 hours after the initial explosion. The titular rig's owner, Transocean, and its client, BP, traded accusations of wrongdoing for years, while various cases worked their way through the courts – and a lengthy environmental clean-up of the gulf coast proceeded. No one went to jail, but, according to Wikipedia, "To date BP's cost for the clean-up, environmental and economic damages and penalties has reached $54bn." But that's all scientific and industrial detail. This film is mainly a story about people.

Berg (with his screenwriters, Matthew Michael Carnahan and Michael Sand) personalizes the story by focusing on a few key people involved in the events depicted. Master electrician Mike Williams (played by Mark Wahlberg, who Berg also directed in 2013's "Lone Survivor") is a devoted family man with a loving wife (Kate Hudson) and a sweet and precocious daughter (Stella Allen), who's very proud of her dad and his job. Radio operator Andrea Fleytas (Gina Rodriguez) is a young, single woman who has a steady boyfriend and loves her vintage Ford Mustang, even if she does have trouble keeping it running. Both Mike and Andrea work for "Mr. Jimmy" (Kurt Russell, appearing on film for the first time with Hudson, who is his adopted daughter) is the caring, but tough and diligent Transocean foreman on Deepwater Horizon, who often finds himself at odds with BP's corporate representatives on the oil rig.

As Mr. Jimmy and his crew arrive at the rig for their three-week-long turn on board, it's apparent that the departing shift (including Berg, in a cameo role, in which he briefly talks with Russell's character) hasn't done their due diligence in taking care of operation and safety concerns on the rig. While entertaining two BP executives who are visiting Deepwater Horizon (and who present him with a safety award during a brief ceremony), Mr. Jimmy locks horns with BP liaison Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich). Mr. Jimmy insists on a test of the pressure entering the well from beneath the ocean floor. When the test gives conflicting results and the results of an alternate follow-up test complicates the situation further, the stage is set for disaster. The rest of the film depicts that disaster with astonishing detail and realism as everyone on that rig fights for survival and for the goal of getting back safely to their families.

"Deepwater Horizon" is a fascinating, entertaining and inspiring take on a real-life disaster. We get good character development and a detailed behind-the-scenes look at the considerations, disagreements and actions that led up to the catastrophic explosion, but there are a couple problems with all that. Berg does a good job with a combination of dialog, on-screen verbiage and impressive visuals to help us understand the dynamics at play, but it almost seems like too much, and the conversations, with a lot of technical jargon, characters talking over each other and seeming to mumble their lines, and some with various southern accents and some without, combine to make it difficult to tune one's ear to the dialog and understand everything that's being said. However, the main point of this movie is the survival story. Berg had a realistic version of the rig built (including many working components) for shooting. His attention to detail – in the set and in the film's visual effects is nothing short of remarkable. What's more, we care about the characters and the danger they're in feels real. For excellent acting, a well-developed story and incredible visuals, you should put this film on your horizon. "B+"

It's sad to think that Transocean/BP lost nothing, and 11 people lost their lives (and who knows how many millions of animals died from the 210million gallons of oil that was spilled).

Transocean/BP got at least a $500million insurance payout, and who knows how many billions of dollars they made from the Deepwater Horizon rig in the 10years that they operated it. And NOBODY went to prison. 11 people dead and no repercussions.

Anyway, the film is pretty good... I would have liked it if they went into a bit of detail on what all the various terms is that they used like marine riser, annular, EDS, kick, and so on. They used to many terms and jargon that the average viewer is left in the dark. They could maybe even have shown what the capping process looks like in the aftermath of the whole event, as I think the capping process would have been very interesting and would have placed a capper (excuse the pun) on the whole movie.

But it's a good movie to watch if you're interested in the whole event, even-though it does offer only a cursory glance at the causes of the disaster, and spends the majority of the time focusing on the panic & mayhem that happened during the actual explosion.

A solid disaster flick with some good production and acting, the first half is a little too slow for my taste but after the catastrophe strikes Deepwater Horizon rolls on like a beast.

Deepwater Horizon is a movie that succeeds on two levels: as an action-packed blockbuster and as an honest depiction of a tragic disaster. It's the story of the BP oil rig that exploded and contaminated the Gulf of Mexico. The way Berg directs the sequence of events is well paced and purposefully developmental for a good chunk of the movie. It takes about 45 minutes before the crap hits the fan, during which we're allowed time to get to know the characters - their quirks, their personalities - so we can empathize with their situation. The stakes feel real, as they should (and were), which is a testament to the directing and the acting. Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell dominate in their roles, Russell given the opportunity to remind us why he's one of the biggest stars ever. The supporting cast is excellent, including John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, and Dylan O'Brien, who have chemistry and rapport between other characters (Malkovich and Russell sharing a couple intense moments where not a word is said).

The disaster itself is portrayed brilliantly. The tone remains frantic and the stunning special effects work puts it over the edge. Once things go south, it's a nonstop adrenaline rush till the end. The only reason it's not rated higher is because it's merely a depiction of events, nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary in regards to storytelling. But it didn't have to be. This was a tragic event and the gritty realism shown here is as refreshing as it is intense. If you're in the mood for a deeper-than-average thrill-ride, look no further than Deepwater Horizon.

I am an engineer working offshore in North Sea. I have seen the movie this evening in UK. Is really a good movie, congratulations to all involved you done a great job showing a little bit of ''life in offshore rig''. Looks like in this movie is BP fault but in real world at the rig site everyone has the right to STOP THE JOB if something is wrong or something is going on against the procedures. I have work before in BP rigs in North Sea and I stop the job when I wasn't happy with what is going on I had all the support from the Service Company that I am working for and also BP company understood my concerns. If you are a engineer, roughneck, derrick-man or whatever you are at Rig Site if you think that something is going wrong and against the procedures STOP THE JOB. I do it and I will do again better to lose my job than to see people dying.(Thanks for reading my review)