Strong and Moving!

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

In some ways "The Poseidon Adventure" is a bad film. The dialog is occasionally goofy and the characters are mostly caricatures. But you come to expect that from producer Irwin Allen....as his shows and movies were all about spectacle and disaster and had little in the way of realistic human interactions. In these ways, his films are a bit like Cecil B. DeMille's.I just saw "The Poseidon Adventure" today. It was my second time--the first was in the theater when I was a boy. Both times I enjoyed it....but this time I could really see how cartoony many of the folks were in the film. There's the preacher (Gene Hackman)...a profane man who curses a lot and seems to have no faith in anything but himself. Then, there's the obese lady (Shelley Winters) and there are quite a few fat remarks at her expense in the film. And, there's the angry man (Ernest Borgnine) and his ex-prostitute wife (Stella Stevens). There are more...all seemingly one-dimensional characters occupying this disaster-fest. But, oddly, despite itself the film IS entertaining and you won't be bored watching it. The special effects are amazing and the film satisfying if, at times, a bit silly.

The "awe" has gone from this film. Shelly Winters in unintentionally funny as she bravely swims underwater. The ending is anticlimactic as we are only shown the stern of the ship near the propellers. (Yes, they do show the smokestacks when it first capsizes.) So did they run out-of-budget for the special effects and miniatures in the finale? It should have been subtitled "Who Dies Next?" Dreadfully out-of-date since 1972. Watch "Titanic " instead and ignore the few "cuss" words and very brief nudity.

The film seems implausible to me and the plot flawed. A 90' wave is unlikely to be caused by an earthquake (yes, a vast moving mass of water, but not very high, is what causes a Tsunami, but would not be a threat to a liner in the middle of an ocean). And freak waves that high probably impossible in the med. Electricity and water equals sparks and fusing, yet everything in the film is light. However, what shines through in the script is the complex nature of the characters and the development of this and the nuances, and what really makes it watchable is the star quality of the acting.

A passenger ship turns over at sea.According to the DVD of this film, Irwin Allen did not direct this movie, but he wanted to direct it, he was always sticking his nose in the sets, and giving out storyboards (sheets of paper with drawings of what each scene should look like) to the British director...who just ignored Irwin.However, Irwin would have his chance to direct the sequel, Beyond The Poseidon Adventure (1979), which I personally think is a wonderful film filled with interesting (and sometimes amusing) people. John Williams did not score the sequel but another less known composer did a reasonable score for "Beyond".So there you have it, you can't just see the first movie, you have to see them both, as they are both great...but stay clear of the 2006 remake just titled: Poseidon.