The Poseidon Adventure

Starring: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Carol Landry, Roddy McDowall, Shelley Winters, Jack Albertson, Stella Stevens, Eric Shea, Pamela Sue Martin
Directed by Ronald Neame, Irwin Allen
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
1972

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: After a rouge wave flips the S.S. Poseidon upside down, a small band of passengers are led by a preacher (Gene Hackman) up to the bottom of the ship- and their only hope of escape.

Review:

Tim: The Poseidon Adventure is one of the earliest and best disaster movies of the 1970s. It is a classic movie, and a very good one at that. It is helped by a terrific cast, memorable characters, and a very interesting plot. I wouldn't go so far as to say this is a great movie- it is certainly a solid, good one, but I think it falls just short.

The biggest strength is undoubtedly the cast. Every member works extremely well together. Gene Hackman does good work in the lead role, as an uncharacteristic preacher. I believed his hell-bent obsession with escaping the Poseidon and getting his people to safety. Ernest Borgnine was fairly good as well. I have to admit he did go over-the-top a bit with many of his scenes, particularly those involving Stella Stevens, his on screen wife. He could have used a bit more restraint in the role. Red Buttons and Carol Landry worked pretty well together- you would never know they didn't like each other in real life. Roddy McDowall's presence is welcome, but he didn't make a huge impact on the film. I really liked Shelley Winters- she was terrific in the role, and deserved her Academy Award nomination. Her underwater scenes were impressive. I also liked the rest of the cast, including Jack Albertson, Eric Shea, and Pamela Sue Martin. The biggest problem with most disaster movies is that it is impossible to connect with or root for the characters. That is not the case here.

This movie does a good job of balancing between the intense, action thrills and the character development scenes. That keeps this movie interesting. The pacing was quite good, and there were very few slow spots. The movie could have been more intense and made a bigger emotional impact, but is at least fairly good in both these regards.

While I wouldn't say this is a great movie, it is a very strong, entertaining action adventure movie. It is certainly unique, and features an unforgettable storyline. The Poseidon Adventure is an example of when a disaster movie goes right.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Poseidon, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, Airport