This film is based on a true story from April 2010 when in a terrible disaster an offshore drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, explodes. This is a film based on the worst oil spill in U.S history. 

Mike Williams (played by Wahlberg) is a chief electrical engineer along with the Operational Supervisor above him (played by Kurt Russell). Both crew members begin their day working along with the large crew on Deepwater Horizon and begin to raise concern and suspicions on the safety checks and the overall condition of the large oil rig. This leads to them to express their thoughts to an executive committee of BP employees who are located on the same rig. One of the committee members is 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 practice, things slowly and gradually build up to 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 great 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, is all here thank to a well-mixed Dolby Atmos Track.

Like most films based on a true story, there are a couple of “Hollywood Moments” which normally can get in the way of a great movie. Luckily enough, this was minor compared to what could have been. 

A strong positive comment for this review is the chemistry between actor Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell. It was fantastic to see and they displayed genuine moments throughout the film. Actress Kate Hudson’s accent does change throughout the film…Many will find this annoying.

Overall, Deepwater Horizon is a gripping & 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

Thank you for visiting! Walkden Entertainment is also available on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/walkdenentertainment/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/walkdenentertainment/

Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/Peter_Walkden/

Review Written by Peter Walkden

7.8/10