Plot
A story set on the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which exploded during April 2010 and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
Release Year: 2016
Rating: 7.3/10 (498 voted)
Critic's Score: 62/100
Director: Peter Berg
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, Douglas M. Griffin
Storyline
A story set on the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which exploded during April 2010 and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
Writers: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Matthew Sand
Cast: Mark Wahlberg -
Mike Williams
Kurt Russell -
Jimmy Harrell
Douglas M. Griffin -
Landry
James DuMont -
O'Bryan
Joe Chrest -
Sims
Gina Rodriguez -
Andrea Fleytas
Brad Leland -
Kaluza
John Malkovich -
Vidrine
David Maldonado -
Kuchta
(as Dave Maldonado)
J.D. Evermore -
Dewey A. Revette
Ethan Suplee -
Jason Anderson
Jason Pine -
Stephen Ray Curtis
Jason Kirkpatrick -
Aaron Dale Burkeen
Robert Walker Branchaud -
Doug Brown
Dylan O'Brien -
Caleb Holloway
Taglines:
When faced with our darkest hour, hope is not a tactic
Trivia:
Based on the oil rig that exploded in 2010, causing the largest oil spill in history. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 6/10
We all remember the images of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in
2010. Millions of gallons of oil spewed from the ocean floor for 87
days all captured and broadcast with a live internet feed. It was the
worst oil spill in US history and BP oil has paid over $70 billion in
fines and clean-up efforts.
But what you might not remember is that the spill occurred when the
floating oil rig Deepwater Horizon suffered a catastrophic explosion
which resulted in the loss of 11 crew lives. Director Peter Berg (Lone
Survivor) again teams up with actor Mark Wahlberg in an attempt to
bring the fascinating and heroic story to audiences in the
action-biopic Deepwater Horizon.
Wahlberg plays Mike Williams who was the chief electronics technician
for Transocean on the Deepwater Horizon. Scheduled to work upon the oil
rig for just a few weeks, Williams along with Transocean offshore
installation manager Jimmy Harrell (played by Kurt Russell) quickly
identify that BP has cut corners with safety measures in an attempt to
hit production targets. "Money, money, money" one of the operators
sings as his conclusion to BP's negligence.
Concerns represented by Williams and Harrell do little to convince
on-site BP officials to radically change course and slow operations
until all safety precautions have been taken. Their disregard resulted
in a high pressure methane gas explosion that engulfed the rig
platform. One hundred and five crew members were on board when the
explosion took place at approximately 9:45PM CMT. Ninety-Four were
rescued. Eleven crew were never found.
Wahlberg and Russell are both convincing in their respective roles. It
might be difficult in theory to rationalize Wahlberg as an electronics
technician, but the versatile actor convincingly plays a smart
family-oriented blue-collar worker and the ultimate hero of the film.
Much of the first reel deals with BP's neglect and the conflict with
the experienced workers aboard the rig. The unflattering digs are not
discreet and we imagine that BP in no way will be exultant to see how
Matthew Michael Carnahan and Matthew Sand's screenplay shines the light
on corporate greed. Berg does his best to try and describe the safety
tests that took place aboard the vessel, but it's not until the first
explosion that audiences will become engaged in the horrific ordeal.
Berg is no stranger to blowing things up. We all want to forget 2010's
Battleship, but it likely did expose Berg to A-Level special effects
and they are on full display here. The Deepwater Horizon replica is
considered the largest set ever built and Berg most have took delight
in completely devastating the platform with pyro techniques and theatre
rattling explosions. Kurt Russell ran through fires and explosions in
1991's Backdraft, but things are turned up a notch here.
As an action film, Deepwater Horizon works wonderful well. For certain,
audiences will not bored through the blasts and heroics of our
protagonists. Where the film does falter is in its emotional appeal.
Although we get a small glimpse into the home life of Mike Williams
(his wife is played by Kate Hudson who acts with father Kurt Russell
for the first time), the film doesn't pull at the heartstrings for the
eleven souls lost that fateful April evening. They are memorialized
before the end credits role, but they are lost in the shuffle of action
packed sequences that consume the 107-minute running time of Deepwater
Horizon.
The film is still important. It is important that we learn from our
mistakes and that we remember the fallen. It's just unfortunate that
Berg was unable to take a gallant story and turn it into something that
acted as historical reference, casual entertainment and emotional
groundwork that would evoke change in big industry standards.
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