O Destino do Poseidon

I still don't understand how people get on here and write reviews about movies, with statements like wasted actors talent, campy, don't you understand this movie was made in 1972 there was no CGI and copying movie like it's done today, this was an original and won awards and was up for many more nominations, these actors weren't wasted they were continuing to develop their craft. I saw this as a 6yr old and still remember it today on New Years Eve as I just watched it this morning bringing back so many memories that made me the movie buff I am. I never forgot it from the wonderful soundtrack (Oscar winning ) and the cinematography (Oscar winning) which was earned the old fashioned way imagination, not by some computer generated initiative. I love movies today but I still remember good movies and how they were made in yesteryear also. It's kinda like comparing atheletes when people(younger people especially) when they say Lebron is better than Oscar R or Michael J, the players are all great in their time, if either Michael or Oscar were here today they would still be GREAT, as Lebron is today, but to say he is better is foolish, This a Great Movie today as it was in 1973. PERIOD!!

'The Poseidon Adventure' is a supremely entertaining flick from the days when blockbusters were amongst the best movies out there. Rather than the worst.

Sure, it's corny and it's histrionics can seem overly familiar, but it still packs a punch. This is due to the fact that it's played completely straight. Well, relatively straight in the case of the Borgnine/ Stevens double-act. And it achieves real dramatic resonance from it's allegorical plot line. It pretty much created the template for the 'disaster' film.

Favourite bits:

Red Buttons' funky little walk up on deck.

The way Pamela Sue Martin and her date boogie down when they hit the dance floor.

Pamela Sue Martin's legs. Ditto Carol Lynley.

Lynley's hippy brother.

Roddy McDowall's accent and dialogue (consisting mostly of "yes, sir" and "I think so, sir").

Ernest Borgnine learning that kids can be useful as well as merely irritating.

Hackman's "Please, God - not THIS woman" schtick and death scene.

All of Stella Stevens' wardrobe.

Although the film was made in 1972, the special effects still stand up quite well even in this CGI era. While you might expect actors like Hackman and Winters to "walk" through their roles in a film like this simply "for the money", the cast does a solid job. Buttons, known for his proclivity to "ham it up", treats this role more seriously like he did in "Sayonara", and as a result is okay. Carol Lynley, never a great actress to begin with, gives the poorest performance, turning her character into a whiner. In the story, the ship is capsized at midnight on New Years Eve, and the story proceeds from there to the conclusion hours later when it is daylight. The action is continuous, which makes it more believable. As of this date, aside from the "kids" Pamela Sue Martin and Eric Shea, Gener Hackman is the only cast member still living.

This movie is my ultimate disaster flick and even though I really liked Titanic. This one, as others have said IS better and I'll tell you why. In Titanic we have just one story going, where as in this one we have several. The subtle budding romance between Nonnie and Mr. Martin was very interesting to watch. I thought they were a rather odd pairing at first, but it worked seeing how they both needed each other. Linda Rogo was my favorite character. She knew what to say and how to say it. She even told her pompus husband off a few times. The fact that she's an ex-prostitute and her husband being the cop that arrested her made their story rather interesting. Mr. Rogo and the Preacher's quarrels were amusing and heated. I liked the Rosens, they were the strong ones and you could truly see the love they had for one another. The kid was annoying, but useful and I really enjoyed the sexual tension between Susan and the Preacher. Their scenes were my favorite. This movie has a cast of truly rich characters that were more entertaining to watch than the actual effects. Ah! The good old days where character development and an actual plot outweigh the special effects and the disaster itself. 9 out of 10.

The Poseidon Adventure is one of those movies I have seen at least once a year as long as I have been alive. I lived in Maine when I was a kid and we loved our natural disaster flicks. Of all the great disaster movies from the 70s, this has got to be the best one. Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelly Winters, Roddy McDowall, Leslie Neilson, and the list goes on.

The basic plot goes like this. The Poseidon is a cruise ship out for its last voyage and it is New Year's Eve. The guests are all celebrating while deep beneath the ocean's surface an earthquake is happening. The earthquake sets off a huge tsunami and the ship is knocked upside down. In order to be saved, a small group of people heads for the engine room at the bottom (make that top, since the ship is upside down) of the ship. At first, the ocean claims hundreds of the passengers until they are whittled down to about 10 people left. From here there are plenty of tense moments and a power struggle for control of the survivors. Typical disaster movie fare but done rather well.

This movie is a great main event for a disaster film weekend.