The Poseidon, an old ocean liner, is sailing from New York to Athens on its final voyage. The ship bobs and weaves through rough seas, but the captain is forbidden from taking on stabilizing ballast by a callous business agent supervising the trip. Just then, a massive underground earthquake sends a tsunami roaring across the sea. The impossible tidal wave hits the Poseidon and the ship capsizes. A group passengers and crew survive in the ship’s now upside-down dining room. One faction, led by Reverend Scott (a gruff, “help yourself” preacher) determines that their best chance for survival is to “climb down” to the lower decks that are now above the water-line. The group navigates the ship’s inverted hallways and rooms, racing against the flooding sea as the ship continues to take on water. We watch as the group supports each other, argues about the best way forward, leverages each other’s strengths, and fights to survive in film that toils with faith, loss, and perseverance.
“The Poseidon Adventure” is the first “disaster movie” I’ve watched as a part of this project. I grew up with the ‘90s disaster flicks, like the Volcano-Dante’s Peak/Armageddon-Deep Impact pairs, and was actually excited to dig into this genre’s ‘70s roots. I know that I’m not supposed to over-analyze the science-y parts, but I’m pretty sure this film had a loose grasp on how tsunamis work. Still, the model-work was cool and the capsizing sequence was fun to watch. In fact, I think a big part of this film’s “cool factor” was the production design, with upside down sets, floods and fires, and attractive actors in skimpy or water-pressed clothing. The film did a good job of establishing our main characters and their backstories, or giving them little arcs. And I like seeing the disfunction that led to the predicament (and Leslie Neilson played a really good “straight” captain!). But the “God helps those who help themselves” thematic thru-line felt especially uninspiring in the light of the constant string of character deaths. What can you do?!