Here we actually have a well made and entertaining disaster film. "The Poseidon Adventure" contains moments of tension and suspense as the survivors of the cruise ship wreck attempt to reach safety and against overwhelming odds.... Most of the time, the leading man or lady isn't required to act very much. They are required to look either brave or frightened. In this case, Gene Hackman made his character - a maverick priest - a multi-dimensional one. He doesn't feel he is any more brave or heroic than the average person. He never forgets the terrible task that he is faced with, as leader of the survivors on board the cruise liner. A great performance. Ernest Borgnine and Shelley Winters give the best performances in the supporting cast. The screenplay is a lot better than films of this kind usually are. The director Ronald Neame sensibly allows the audience to know the backgrounds of all the main characters before disaster strikes. The introduction of all the characters helps to give them much needed shading. Everything about this film looks frighteningly real. The fact that the "The Poseidon Adventure" was directed by an Englishman can't make it that bad a film! This is the definitive disaster film by a long way.
Review of The Poseidon Adventure
