After the release of Titanic, people were really into films based on true stories/myths that depicted disasters happening at sea. There were a bunch of copycat films that came out from that particular era, and The Perfect Storm is one of them.
I will say one thing, every time I see that Mark Wahlberg is involved in a project, I automatically assume that it is not going to be great. 99% of the time though, my instincts are right and the gut feeling is actually true. Sure, The Perfect Storm is perhaps one of the better films that he’s done, yet for co-star George Clooney, it is an absolute disaster.
How to Stream or Download The Perfect Storm
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The Movie Review
The story follows Andrea Gail, a commercial fishing vessel that was lost at sea back in the year 1991. This commercial sword-fishing boat along with its Captain Billy, his crew, and a young boy named Bobby, all managed to perish alongside their ship. The story showcases melodramatic slash fictional retelling of those events and features a fantastic cast of some incredible actors.
The film is directed by Wolfgang Petersen, who hasn’t had a hot streak of filmmaking for a while now. In fact, most of the films he has done have never really been something good. Sure, he made Troy however that was the only good film he made.
Due to the director’s overreliance on dialogue and the disaster aspect of the film, it suffers a lot in terms of character development and the actual script. The film is quite slow at the start and once it gets going with the disaster incident, it never really stops.
While that would work well in terms of a regular blockbuster film, this isn’t a blockbuster and it doesn’t really try to be. The film doesn’t have an identity is the issue, as it struggles with multiple genres at once. It incorporates romance, action, disaster and even tries to add in a lot of drama and suspense. But at the end of the day, it just turns out to be a regular thriller film that showcases the disaster event.
Thankfully though, the disaster events showcased in the film are actually chockfull of some amazing visual effects and practical set pieces. The film looks and feels fantastic during these action moments, and features some amazing talent on board that makes it feel even better; in particular, the cast, which is filled with fantastic actors that results in a film that is somewhat enjoyable to watch.
The Cast reflects the characters perfectly and the portrayals are respectful and commendable. In particular, the performances by George Clooney and Diane Lane, who do a fantastic job of portraying their characters and bringing them to life! John C.
Reilly is also particularly good in this film, it seems that the director managed to squeeze out great performances from every single actor. At least that was true until it comes to Mark Wahlberg, who manages to give a completely stale performance and takes away a lot from the film.
Another aspect of this film that bothers me is the cinematography by John Seale, which feels absolutely bland and colorless. The film’s fantastic practical and visual effects are bogged down by the colorless and bland cinematography, making for a film that is shot horribly yet features some decent work by the production design.
It is honestly a baffling film to review because I am trying to find some positives but they are all either hindered by a different element or just the film itself.
I absolutely adore George Clooney and his acting, however, there isn’t much to like here and I can’t find any Silver Linings. The only few things that I can say something positive about are the acting performances by everyone in the cast aside from Mark Wahlberg of course, and the practical effects.
The story is just a basic retelling of some horrible events, the direction makes sure the film is all over the place, it doesn’t really have an identity and the script is just boring. If this film had any experimentation and creative liberties that could have been taken with the dialogue, perhaps it would have been much more fun to watch.
