This film is based on a true story from April 2010 when an offshore drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, exploded in a terrible disaster. This is a film based on the worst oil spill in U.S history.
Mike Williams (played by Wahlberg) is a chief electrical engineer and the Operational Supervisor above him (played by Kurt Russell). Both crew members begin their day working with the large crew on Deepwater Horizon and raise concerns and suspicions about the giant oil rig’s safety checks and the overall condition. This leads them to express their thoughts to an executive committee of BP employees on the same rig. One of the committee members played with great craft by John Malkovich. Due to the BP company’s backlog, risk of finance, and other people’s opinions on current safe practices, things slowly and gradually build up into a very suspenseful film.
Director Peter Berg is well known for telling true stories through his films, as we recently saw again with Mark Wahlberg in “Lone Survivor”. The director is also known for his work with “Battleships” & “Hancock”. Judging from the director’s previous films, I was expecting an impacting film with excellent audio & visuals, which I’m happy to announce he did deliver. This film’s audio effects, including explosions, oil sprays & the sound of a large oil rig moving, etc., are all here, thanks to a well-mixed audio track.
Like most films based on a true story, there are a couple of “Hollywood Moments” which generally can get in the way of a great movie. Luckily enough, this was minor compared to what could have been.
A solid positive comment for this review is the chemistry between actor Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell. It was fantastic to see; they displayed genuine moments throughout the film—actress Kate Hudson’s accent changes throughout the film, which some may find annoying.
Overall, Deepwater Horizon is a gripping and suspenseful film, and I was grateful to see this in cinemas. Like the recent film “Sully”, if you’re familiar with the tragic events of Deepwater Horizon, be sure to check this out.
7.8/10
19th November 2016
Written by Peter Walkden
WALKDEN ENTERTAINMENT
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