Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
A packed cruise ship traveling the Atlantic is hit and overturned by a massive wave, compelling the passengers to begin a dramatic fight for their lives.
Poseidon is a competent but largely forgettable remake of the 1972 classic The Poseidon Adventure. The plot is pure disaster-movie formula — a thin ensemble of stock characters with minimal backstory scrambling through an upturned ship — offering little beyond the spectacle. Acting is serviceable at best; the cast (Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, Emmy Rossum) does what it can with underdeveloped roles and clunky dialogue. Cinematography is the film's strongest suit, with solid production design and visually impressive set pieces capturing the chaos of a capsized ocean liner. Novelty is low — it treads almost exactly the same ground as its source material and countless other disaster films, adding no meaningful new perspective. The ending is predictable and emotionally flat, with survivor outcomes telegraphed early and little genuine tension about who makes it out.