A film looking at the April 2010 disaster when an offshore oil rig exploded resulting in the worst oil spill in US history.
Mark Wahlberg takes the title role of Mike Williams and the build up to him heading back to the rig shows how much of a family man he is, doing it all for his daughter and wife. Considering we all know what is going to happen later in the film this is very important for his character development. The audience must like Mike, be rooting for him when it all goes badly and actually care about him.
I guess knowing that is based on actual events and that it wasn’t that long ago it all happened gives the film a slightly different edge. I cannot really think about how to explain that, it gives you a strange feeling. Even worse when you actually know people who go to work on the rigs/offshore. I had no idea or really thought that much about how dangerous it could really be and what it would actually look like on one. (I am assuming the film got that spot on?)
Wahlberg was the perfect choice in the leading role and worked very well with Kurt Russell, who took on the role of the leader Mr Jimmy. The problem is when they arrive on the rig so do BP staff members who are not happy with the lack of progress and that they are currently 43 days behind schedule. That is something that is not particularly going to change very quickly considering a team who were supposed to be putting cement in left before doing the job.
We can see what the issue is going to be can’t we! The BP staff are pushing too hard in things that they don’t really know a massive amount about. They just want the oil and therefore money from it. Ordering different tests that are not really a great idea, but in no position to really prevent it from happening. Pressure tests on the pipes, these parts were actually very engaging as it was waiting for everything to literally explode on the screen. It was building up and building up. Just when you thought that was going to be it and everything was going to be all right, another explosion would happen and it would get a lot worse.
John Malkovich was his usual creepy self as Vidrine not a likeable man by any means and his constant pushing actually resulted in the disaster. The worst possible place to get caught up in not only a fire, but a mixture of the oil explosion as well. I did find it rather crazy that when Mike’s wife rang a number about the rig they told her straight away about reports of a fire? Surely that didn’t really happen?!?! Wouldn’t that be the worst thing to just randomly tell someone over the phone?
It is amazing to see that people do show the fight or flight mode in a disaster such as this and I think that is something that was caught perfectly with different characters and the choices they made. Wahlberg was very strong as the lead, I tend to like and enjoy his performances more with each film (yes even the not so great films) and this one is no different.
While the film is ok and a decent action film, I felt it was lacking or missing something to have it as a good action film. Cannot really place what that is though, what do you think of this one? Or do you plan on seeing it?
