Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen
Written by: Mark Protosevich
Starring: Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, Emmy Rossum, Andre Baugher, Jacinda Barrett, Richard Dreyfuss, Mia Maestro
Year: 2006
Country: US
Running time: 98mins
BBFC Classification: 12
The penultimate film of blockbuster master Wolfgang Peterson’s career, Poseidon sees him taking on another disaster at sea (after Das Boot and The Perfect Storm) in a modern take (at the time) of the Irwin Allen classic The Poseidon Adventure. Set on New Year’s Eve, the luxury ocean liner Poseidon is caught off guard by a rogue tidal wave not long after the new year has chimed in. Capsizing and causing considerable damage, the wave leaves a rag-tag group of survivors within the bowels of the ship who dangerously make their through the slowly sinking upside-down vessel, desperately trying to find a way out to safety.
Poseidon was the third version (there was a TV adaptation in 2005 featuring Rutger Hauer) of Paul Gallico’s novel The Poseidon Adventure (published in 1969) of which all adaptations are based. Wolfgang Petersen’s is a big, loud, and technically impressive rendition of the story, he coming off a run of big hits like Air Force One, The Perfect Storm, and Troy: thus, having all the expensive production and visual effects tools Hollywood money can buy at his disposal. And in that sense not a penny is wasted as Poseidon is some sleek big budget disaster action fun that benefits from staging a lot of the set-pieces practically. While extensive CGI is utilised to create the exterior of the luxury liner at sea and the gigantic frightening wave that topples it (said CGI still holding up almost 20 years later and in UHD!), the action that takes place in the confines of the ship is mostly done practically on giant sets built on the Warners lot in Los Angeles.
This is where the film shines as the incredible sets and dangerous looking stunts are all delivered with tension fuelled excitement under Petersen’s assured hand. Not a minute is wasted as we’re barely into the film before the wave hits and our group of survivors (including Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, and Richard Dreyfuss) are put through a series of perilous situations trying escape the sinking boat. It’s great stuff coming from a time when Hollywood still took it’s time to orchestrate action practically and let it play out for maximum tension. From upside down ballrooms, to ceiling to floor high dives (!), to a fraught struggle through flooding vents, Peterson orchestrates the disaster action with flair and excitement.
Inevitably character is sidelined in favour of spectacle but Lucas leads well as the not always likeable hero of the group, while Mia Maestro provides good support as the amiable stowaway, and Russell brings his everyman hero gravitas to keep everyone in check. The roll-your-eyes subplot of just engaged couple Emmy Rossum and Mike Vogel grates however, and it is a shame that Peterson reportedly cut around 20 minutes of character introduction footage from the beginning of the film (to get to the disaster quicker!) meaning Andre Baugher’s captain and Freddie Rodriguez’s kitchen staff character get short shrift. It’s a shame really, as at pretty much 90-minutes sans end credits, the extra time spent with characters prior to the capsizing of the ship would have been beneficial and made Poseidon that bit more satisfying.
Still, as set-piece cinema Poseidon is some entertaining fun buoyed by some expertly crafted mayhem, an always welcome solid turn from Kurt Russell, and the competent hand of Wolfgang Petersen orchestrating his known brand of thrills in his last big Hollywood effort before his unfortunate death in 2022. Slick, unpretentious, old-school thrills delivered via bombastic pacing, huge set-pieces, and thrilling tension. Good fun.
Arrow Video will release Poseidon on Limited Edition 4K UHD 11th August 2025
4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) – new 4K restoration looks incredible, the CGI holding up under scrutiny, and try to watch it on the biggest screen possible.
- Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Ocean View, a brand-new interview with director of photography John Seale – fascinating interview with the great John Searle (Witness, The Hitcher, Mad Max: Fury Road) that touches (briefly) on his career as well as his working relationship with Wolfgang Petersen (who he also worked with on The Perfect Storm). He’s a warm and intelligent person, devoid of pretension, who now happily retired talks enthusiastically of his experience working on Poseidon and how proud of the film he is. Could have watched a whole feature documentary of Searle talking about his varied career and his working relationships with other directors such as Peter Weir and George Miller.
- Big Sets for Big-Time Directors, a brand-new interview with production designer William Sandell – charming and insightful interview with William Sandell, another Wolfgang alum having worked with the director on many of his films since Outbreak. Sandell gives an in-depth overview of how they created the giant sets on the Warners Bros lot and what is took to build, maintain, and film on such elaborate soundstages. It’s fascinating stuff with Sandell’s obvious enthusiasm for the gig and the film coming through. He was able to bring his considerable experience to Poseidon having worked on other big budget seafaring films (Deep Blue Sea, Master & Commander) and it’s bittersweet as he laments that Poseidon was from a now long-gone era when Hollywood still made big blockbusters on huge sound stages as practically as they could. Great stuff.
- Surfing the VFX Wave, a brand-new interview with visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis – slightly longer interview that’s geared towards the more tech orientated viewer, as VFX ace Boyd Shermis (Speed, Batman Forever) goes through how he came on board Poseidon and how they utilized multiple visual effects houses to create the impressive digital water effects and the actual ship itself. Rightly proud of effects work done on Poseidon, Shermis also details how they blended the practical with the computer generated to create often seamless effects. Again, a little bittersweet, as Shermis reflects on how the visual effects industry has changed drastically since Poseidon, with filmmakers now asking not can you do this/find a way to do this but how can you do this all for as cheap and in as little time as possible!
- Bringing Out the Dead, a brand-new interview with make-up effects on-set supervisor Michael Deak – fun interview with special effects all-rounder Deak (everything from George Romero movies to Charles Band heyday movies, to Michael Bay movies, to Tony Scott movies!!) where he discusses the on-set practical effects. Mainly all the dead body props that litter the giant Poseidon set after the initial wave hit and the logistics of dressing such a huge set with hundreds of fake bodies. Deak is an interesting fellow with some excellent anecdotes about the filming of Poseidon: including how they reused all the dummies they made for clones in Michael’s Bay’s The Island for Poseidon’s dead bodies to then reuse them again for Tony Scott’s Deja-Vu! Again, it appears Deak has a wealth of experience and knowledge that could make a full-length feature documentary. Good stuff.
The above four featurettes are an excellent insight to the making of a huge blockbuster from those that were directly involved. Their collective insight and enthusiasm, for the film, the experience it gave them, and its director, as well as one another, is refreshingly positive (despite some obvious difficulties undertaking such a huge production). Hearing from those directly involved in creating, building, filming the movie offers the most valuable and true insight into a film’s production and with these collaborators looking back on the films production an often-poignant reflection.
- Set a Course for Adventure, a brand-new retrospective on the film by Heath Holland – new retrospective of the film looking at how it compares to the original and the novel it’s based on.
- Poseidon: A Ship on a Soundstage, a featurette looking at the film’s production featuring interviews with cast and crew
- Poseidon: Upside Down, a featurette exploring the film’s challenging set design
- A Shipmate’s Diary, a featurette following production assistant Malona Voigt on the set of Poseidon
- the above 3 featurettes are some cool old school behind-the-scenes promo from when the film was originally released. Of their time, and certainly not something we see much of these days, all 3 featurettes give a great look behind the making of the film with lots of footage of cast and crew filming, stunts being performed, and the sets being built. The likes of John Searle and William Sandell also pop up and it’s cool to see them at work behind the scenes. It’s also cool to see Wolfgang Petersen at work and see the cast behind scenes. It’s all very promo heavy with the director and cast no doubt saying all the positive things they’re supposed to but with so much footage and contributions from many of the crew, it’s a great look into the making of a huge old school blockbuster. A Shipmate’s Diary is particularly fun look from a production assistant on her first big movie.
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jacey – not available at the time of review.
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Priscilla Page – not available at the time of review.
