No Merchandising. Editorial Use Only. No Book Cover Usage Mandatory Credit: Photo by Lions Gate Entertainment/Mov/REX/Shutterstock (5659900b) Mark Wahlberg Deepwater Horizon' film - 2016

Director: Peter Berg

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, Gina Rodriguez, John Malkovich, Kate Hudson, Dylan O’Brien, Ethen Suplee, Douglas M. Griffin, James DuMont, Joe Chrest, Brad Leland, David Maldonado

Rating: 12A

Running Time: 108 Minutes

Release Date: 29/09/2016

Based on the real life of story of the men who died during the Gulf of Mexico BP oil rig explosion in 2010, DEEPWATER HORIZON is the latest movie from Peter Berg reteaming with his LONE SURVIVOR collaborator Mark Wahlberg.

When it comes to disaster movies, there are always two types. The first are the big, dumb (usually natural disaster based) ones. Something like SAN ANDREAS or 2012, where they’re not based on anything in particular, but serve your Sunday afternoons well with a couple of hours of easy (“Dumb but fun”) thrills.

The second, however, are films that are based on true stories and are therefore a lot more seriously intentioned. Think CAPTAIN PHILLIPS or UNITED 93. This second group of movies are not really suitable for labelling with “dumb fun” but come with a greater emotional weight and technical ambition than the other kind.

DEEPWATER HORIZON is certainly the second type. It may have a lot of explosions but because it’s based off a real-life tragedy, it has a good dose of heart-wrenching drama. Berg and his screenwriters Matthew Sand and Matthew Michael Carnahan spend the first two-thirds building up the tension and setting up the characters. Thus, when we get to the final, action-packed third, we care that little bit more. 

Deepwater Horizon

Thankfully the film does a great job by itself of keeping you engaged, with the hour of build up beforehand providing a nice amount of worthwhile but cliched story.

When it comes to the dramatic final third, however, it gets the blood pumping excellently. The initial explosion is jaw-dropping and the subsequent survival scenes make you really feel the heat.

There are some excellent performances, particularly from Wahlberg and Russell and the direction is lean and efficient. Artistically, the cinematography and score from Enrique Chediak and Steve Jablonsky respectively are serviceable if not particularly memorable, which is only more to the movie’s credit that it’s very watchable.

Deepwater Horizon

I enjoyed the rumbling tension of the first two acts and the fiery ending was quite a thing to behold, even if it took a little dramatic licence to convert the harrowing story to the big screen.

Solid, exhilarating real-life disaster movie that does what it does well.

(You can watch the DEEPWATER HORIZON European Premiere red carpet interviews here.)

Verdict

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