107 minutes, Drama/Action

On the night of April 20, 2010, the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history occurred, taking the lives of 11 workers and injuring 17 others. The Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig, located about 40 miles (60km) of the Louisiana Coast, exploded and subsequently caused a massive fire. It further led to what is considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the world. This retelling of the dramatic events which unfolded, directed by Peter Berg (LONE SURVIVOR, HANCOCK), stars Mark Wahlberg as Chief Electronics Technician Mike Williams, leaving his family home (Wife, played by Kate Hudson and daughter Sydney, Stella Allen) for a few weeks stint on the rig. Also making up another of the 126 crew stationed on Deepwater Horizon is Installation Manager Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell) and other crew members Caleb (Dylan O’Brien), Andrea (Gina Rodriguez) and Jason (Ethan Suplee), among others.

Thankfully, DEEPWATER HORIZON is deserving of the merit currently circulating early into its release. A fine job has been accomplished in paying respects to most who were affected by and to all who were a casualty of this horrifying ordeal. I’ll elaborate on that most comment shortly!

Other than staying more true to the real-life events than expected, DEEPWATER HORIZON is to be credited for doing enough in the characterisation and comradeship departments, keeping the horrible experience for its characters (and in honour for its real-life victims) an involving one, as it ought to be. Especially during the latter stages of the film. The fast pacing also works favourably in this respect, although the editing often overlaps dialogue spoken by different characters and along with heavy background sounds, makes this films narrative difficult to understand throughout.

Perhaps one fact behind DEEPWATER HORIZON that surprises is the disaster sequence which is reportedly not so exaggerated (as we’ve come to expect from Hollywood!). A massive $156 million budget which partly went towards building the largest set-piece ever made sets the scene for a disaster sequence that is very powerfully staged. Now, where human error and tragedy has occurred, we all know that someone will subsequently take the fall. While there are certainly people and organisations responsible for the fatal incident that took place, this movie’s script (based on an article published in The New York Times), is overly concerned by the unnecessary need to create a villain in opposition to the hero of this story. A villain that isn’t truthful to this real-life tragedy either. That’s the only real disappointment in DEEPWATER HORIZON, especially considering that a reasonably compelling (and factual) storyline involving the leasing of the rig to BP by owner Transocean, and what actions really led to the disaster, is submerged by this.

3 out of 5

DEEPWATER HORIZON

Viewer Discretion 
M – Mature Themes and Coarse Language
Please also be advised that DEEPWATER HORIZON features disturbing images related to the tragedy and the disaster sequence is prolonged, so may distress some viewers.

Moviedoc wishes to thank Alex from Roadshow Films, Roadshow Films and Village Cinemas Jam Factory for the invitation to the Preview Screening of DEEPWATER HORIZON. 

Review by Moviedoc 
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