Poseidon (2006/Warner Blu-ray)
Picture: B- Sound:
B Extras: D Film: D
Wolfgang Petersen has not directed a film since Poseidon in 2006 and when you add Troy
a few years prior, you can see why. He
has lost his touch (and plenty of money for Warner Bros.) so it is strange to
revisit this dud, which we reviewed before upon its original theatrical release
at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3725/Poseidon+(2006/Theatrical+Film+Revie
Of course, many know it is a remake of The Poseidon Adventure (1974, reviewed on Blu-ray elsewhere on this
site) that was fun and had more energy.
This is essentially an attempt to do James Cameron’s Titanic (1997) with a commercial label,
which cost an estimated $200 Million. It
is hard to believe this was greenlighted after a TV mini-series version had
just been made and was also a dud, as if throwing more money at it was going to
make a difference.
Needless to say this has not dated well and I was re-reminded how
poorly the cast (including Kurt Russell, Andre Braugher, Josh Lucas, Emmy
Rossum, Kevin Dillon and Freddy Rodriguez) was used. This was even more forgettable than I
recalled and so, could the Blu-ray make it seem fresh? No.
The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image looks (no pun
intended) washed-out and noisy, with problematic definition and color
limits. I remember this looking a bit
better and it was blown-up into IMAX 70mm presentation, but you would hardly
know it seeing this. Director of
Photography John Seale, A.C.S., A.S.C., did better with Petersen on The Perfect Storm (reviewed elsewhere
on this site) anyhow, but this playback disappoints. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mix
is better, warm and the default highlight of the Blu-ray, yet seems a
generation down and not sounding as good as I remembered it, especially for a
film that was issued in IMAX’s Sonics-DDP format.
Extras include a History Channel special on tidal waves and three
making-of featurettes.
- Nicholas Sheffo
