DEEPWATER HORIZON (2016)

1/27/2017 - Deepwater Horizon (2016) – 6+/10

A legit and real-life disaster film that was pretty solidly forged with style, earnestness, and pulsating dramatics. The materiality of DH is a bit of an abnormality, as disaster flicks are often fantastic fictional accounts (ex. what if LA became a super volcano?), but the tangible reality of this story made it even more impactful. Horizon was a bit of a cinematic shotgun, being imperfect but still blasting you in the face with intense drama and horrific action.

It was a touch heavy-handed in its approach, especially early. Lots of sizzle and fast-talking nigh-on caricatures. So much shoving of everything that uses the precious and story-focused oil (we are in 4 different vehicles, 3 different fueling up scenes in the 1st 15 min.) into the frame to hit us over the head with the point. Yeah, we get it! I tend to like a more finely tuned subtlety to my storytelling. The emotion and intentioned attention during the 1st quarter and last quarter are a touch loose and flaccid.

That all said though, the middle of this spectacle is tightly wound and concussive, in its pace and purpose. After the rig, it felt like Berg ran out of things to say and lost momentum, but during/around the incident, there is a constant locomotion of story, character, stylized camera work, and excitement that really worked well. I was brought onboard, both literally and figuratively.

There were some stout actors providing a wide range of performances, mostly good. Wahlberg was acceptable, with a few peaks and valleys. Russel kicked-ass. Malkovich was laying it on thick, but it was purposeful and did not distract.

This is not how I envisioned this accident. So much more deadly and devastating than a "leak" or "spill". This was a tragedy of epic proportions, on a personal and larger standard. I won’t crap on Berg or the film for exploiting the calamity to make a deathly barraging spectacle, but I can sympathize with that accusation. The film provides context, sentiment, and illumination in an enticing way. It is well done and certainly mightier than I expected it to be.