Deepwater

Deepwater Horizon is the first of two Peter Berg directed films this year, and if Patriots Day is anywhere near as good as this film we could be looking at quite a few nominations for Berg come February.

Deepwater Horizon tells the story of the crew members of the rig of the same name in April 2010, when the largest oil spill in U.S. history began. Berg is always a guy to count on with this type of harrowing true story. He has the skills of an action film director while also having the delicate hand for an emotionally powerful touch. And much like the recently released 'Sully', this film is a strong tale about the power of the human spirit.

Putting Battleship aside, Berg has always had a knack for directing high intensity sequences of trauma and thrills. Even taking that note into a smaller scale with Friday Night Lights, Berg is great at managing to balance intensity and emotion. Deepwater Horizon is perhaps his biggest scale film thus far, but it's also incredibly personal as well. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, Gina Rodriguez, and Kate Hudson. All of them get the opportunity to act in small intimate moments as well as physically demanding scenes.

Usually, it's those small moments that bring the emotions out of me, and that was Kate Hudson here. I feel like she hasn't gotten a lot to do since her breakout with Almost Famous, but this may be the best she's been since. She plays Wahlberg's wife, and it's simply her reactions to the devastation on the oil rig while she's at home, that really got to me. Powerful stuff.

With all that said, sometimes the high octane thrills feel to be heightened just for heightening certain situations. Berg never loses sight of the end goal here, but some 'action'-ish scenes are almost a little too much, considering how contained this story feels. It doesn't take you out of the film, but you will feel like it could have been handled differently.

Like Berg's previous film, Lone Survivor, it does a nice job of honoring those who died at the rig and the families severely affected by the tragedy. It's a powerful film with gripping performances from Hudson and the rest of the cast that will likely lead it right into the awards season come winter time.

+Berg's delicate touch

+Hudson

+Devastating

-Some heightened moments

8.6/10

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.

I usually don't write reviews but saw mostly negative reviews on here so far and that ain't right.

It is not a perfect movie and it's not artsy, or profound. However it is very entertaining, has wide appeal, will make you laugh, have you on the edge of your seat and might even make you cry. It's a slow build at the beginning but the tension soon rises and you will then be hooked. The effects appear to be realistic and mostly practical made with a production value that appears to be one of the most expensive films ever made (which alone is impressive given it is not a sequel or superhero movie).

Mark Wahlberg works as an everyman lead, but it is Kurt Russel who steals the show. Maybe the performance of his career, and the strongest aspect of the film in my opinion. Malkovich is also amazing as the villain, stealing every scene he is in. The two of them along with the incredible story done with top notch sets, effects and sound is exactly why you have to pay the money to see this on the biggest screen possible.

If you need a film to be a character study or you want senseless action from start to finish then you might be one of the people who is disappointed. But if you are looking for a gripping story with great tension and action that can be enjoyed by a wide range then go see this film.

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)

I read the reviews before I watched it, Generally, an over 7 is usually a decent movie and you won't be disappointed.

I like the technology and the Rig speak, which for guys that work with their hands, just sounds right to the ear.

These guys did a good job of portraying a Gulf of Mexico type Roughneck...Having spent 6 months in Biloxi, you meet the type...A quiet dignity and hellraisers when they're off...You have to respect the intricacies of the work these men do to keep us moving...

I really liked Malkovich's role, he put some meat on that bone; :)...Of course Wahlberg is good in his role too...Nice to see Kurt keeping up too...

If you're looking for subtlety and nuance, this is NOT the type of movie you should watch...If you enjoy watching men risk their lives to serve the nation's energy requirements and the sacrifices and sometimes the ultimate sacrifices, all in the name of the job; you'll be glad you saw it...

Respect to all whose job can kill you...Stay safe.