6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 2.4 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.3 |
The Poseidon, an ocean liner bigger than the Queen Elizabeth and Mary combined, is charting its course on New Year's Eve when just after midnight a 90' tidal wave hits. It is the last thing that everyone onboard sees before drowning — the Poseidon is turned upside down, with only a handful of survivors. The lucky few take a journey through the bowels of the ship in an attempt to survive.
Starring: Adam Baldwin, Rutger Hauer, Steve Guttenberg, Bryan Brown, C. Thomas HowellThriller | 100% |
Action | 86% |
Adventure | 14% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS 5.1
English: LPCM 2.0
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
With Y2K looming and CGI techniques being quickly refined, the disaster film—which had been largely dormant since its 1970s glory-days—saw a predictable resurgence in the late 1990s. Computers allowed destruction on heretofore-unseen scales, giving us Dante’s Peak and Volcano in 1997, followed by Armageddon and Deep Impact only a year later. Since then we’ve had The Perfect Storm and The Day After Tomorrow, among others, and Roland Emmerich’s upcoming 2012 threatens to up the ante with its promise of world-destroying spectacle. The genre got its start, though, with 1970’s Airport and 1972’s The Poseidon Adventure, and when word came that Wolfgang Petersen would be helming a remake of the latter, NBC and Larry Levenson Productions thought they’d get in on the action with a made-for-TV remake of their own. Riding the tidal wave of hype generated by Petersen’s 2006 film, this superfluous television version is just about what you’d expect—a dumb, occasionally fun adventure with TV production quality and a cast of loveable but undeniably c-list has-beens.
This CGI boat is doomed.
The Poseidon Adventure's video quality has the odds stacked against it from the get go. For one, this is a made-for-TV movie, and the quality reflects it, from the flat and largely uninspired lighting to the antiquated CGI. The film's 1080p, MPEG-2 transfer only magnifies these flaws, and by cramming three hours of footage onto a BD-25, it shows some issues of its own, mostly in the form of compression artifacts and a few instances of noticeable aliasing on CGI elements. The print itself isn't in the best shape, and you'll count numerous white specks and flecks throughout. Grain is also heavy and persistent, littering the background and the foreground with rampant and often distracting noise. Black levels occasionally crush, but more often than not they take on a soupy, washed-out look that flattens the image. That said, for a TV movie this could have been a lot worse, and the colors, while over-pumped at times, are vibrant, especially royal blues. Clarity is hit or miss. There are a few ultra-crisp shots, mostly in close-up, but much of the film has a soft look that's due to the lighting conditions and/or grainy film stock. You'll never mistake The Poseidon Adventure for a modern theatrical offering, but for what it is it looks okay.
The Poseidon Adventure comes with four audio tracks—Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, Dolby 2.0, and Linear PCM 2.0. I started my listening experience with the Dolby Digital 5.1 track, but soon began to feel that the dialogue was incredibly low in the mix. The DTS 5.1 track (Note: Not HD Master Audio) proved better, with boosted vocal work and a livelier mix overall. For a TV movie, I'd say Poseidon's audio is slightly better than average. Dynamics are fairly solid, from the LFE rumble in the ship's bowels to high-end sound effects that are crisp and detailed. The first third of the film features quiet but substantial ambience in the rears—ballroom chatter and the clanging of cookware in the kitchen come to mind—but when disaster finally strikes, the surround channels get plenty of opportunity to whiz, bang, crash, and gurgle. The discrete effects are sometimes a little clunky, but considering the material, Poseidon sounds better than you might expect.
Director Featurette with John Putch (1080p, 7:26)
Putch shows off the ballroom sets in this fairly boring behind-the-scenes piece. I was really hoping
to get some footage of the tilt sets in action, but alas, it was not to be.
Do note that while this is in 1080p, it definitely looks like upscaled video. The same goes for the
rest of the special features.
Interviews (1080p, 16:00)
Included are brief interviews with Adam Baldwin, Rutger Hauer, Steve Guttenberg, Bryan Brown,
Peter Weller, and C. Thomas Howell. Most of the actors talk about their experiences watching the
original Poseidon and then describe the surface details of their characters. Insignificant
stuff, really.
The Poseidon Adventure Trailer (1080p, 1:53)
There are far better disaster films to spend your hard-earned money on, and with an unimpressive visual presentation, merely sufficient audio, and a barebones package of extras, I can only recommend this made-for-TV sinker to diehard Poseidon enthusiasts. Save your money and buy Knowing instead.
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