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Thursday, July 20, 2006

"The Perfect Storm" review

The Perfect Storm (2000)

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Writing credits William D. Wittliff

George Clooney.... Capt. Billy Tyne
Mark Wahlberg.... Bobby Shatford
Diane Lane.... Christina 'Chris' Cotter
John C. Reilly.... Dale 'Murph' Murphy
William Fichtner.... David 'Sully' Sullivan

Fishermen get greedy for more fish and decide to fight THE PERFECT STORM. Lots of waves attack the boat. Another boat gets caught in THE PERFECT STORM. Who will be saved? Who will outlast THE PERFECT STORM?

Fishing boat vs. THE PERFECT STORM. That's the movie. Somehow the trailer made it look more interesting. I have one big problem with the movie:

SPOILER ON ENDING

So going into the flick, we know the boat sinks. We know that they all die. What we don't know is exactly how they died. So if the filmmakers don't know the details, couldn't they have made it a tad more interesting? Like, maybe a giant shark jumps on board and kills one sailor or a hook gets loose and impales one. The sailors die rather bland deaths. Here was the one aspect that could have been embellished but instead they go for banality.

When the little boat that couldn't gets flipped by the giant wave, THE PERFECT STORM is triumphant. You sitting there wondering why you're watching these sailors battle on, only to get killed. That's why the filmmakers trot out another boat caught in THE PERFECT STORM. The only reason it's in the movie is so that we can be glad that someone is rescued. They are the relief boat for the audience. Thank the Lord, someone lived. Whatever.

SCORE: 2 out of 4 for stormy weather

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