The Perfect Storm [Blu-ray]The Perfect Storm [Blu-ray]
It’s Halloween, 1991. Near Gloucester, Massachusetts, the six members of the Andrea Gail, a swordfishing boat, head out to sea for their last trip of the season. Unbeknownst to them, a shockingly brutal storm is slowly gaining steam. Before the National Weather Bureau has a chance to inform the crew of the impending danger, it’s too late. The resulting battle with three merging weather fronts–an unheralded natural disaster–is grueling and tragic. Based on the true-life best selling novel by Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm stars George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane and is directed by Wolfgang Petersen.Setting out for the one last catch that will make up for a lackluster fishing season, Captain Billy Tyne (George Clooney) pushes his boat the Andrea Gail out to the waters of the Flemish Cap off Nova Scotia for what will be a huge swordfish haul. While his crew is gathering fish, three storm fronts (including a hurricane) collide to create a “perfect storm” of colossal force, and Billy’s path back to Gloucester, Massachusetts, takes them right smack into the middle of it. Wolfgang Petersen’s adaptation of Sebastian Junger’s seafaring bestseller is a faithful if by-the-numbers true-story account of a monster storm that rocked New England in 1991, specifically Tyne’s commercial fishing boat and its crew. Junger’s tale fashioned a compelling if staid narrative out of seemingly disparate events, but this film adaptation tends to flatten out the story into a conventional if absorbing story of man vs. nature, as the crew fights for survival against the awesome waves the storm kicks up. The central part of the film, which cuts between the Andrea Gail‘s fight to stay afloat and the attempts of the Coast Guard to rescue a yacht in peril, is suspenseful action of the first degree, aided by some awesome computer-generated waves. Still, it’s a long way to that action, with an extended first act that consists mainly of stoic men, crying women, and a fair amount of “don’t go out into the sea” dialogue–in other words, a compelling story has been shoehorned into standard summer movie fare. It’s too bad, as Peterson assembled an excellent cast–including Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane, John C. Reilly, and William Fichtner among them–but seems to opt for only a surface exploration of these characters, though Clooney seems to have a touch of Captain Ahab in him. You may still be won over by the movie, but for a more in-depth portrait, go to Junger’s book for the missing details. –Mark Englehart
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(out of 466 reviews)
Review by Jake DenHerder for The Perfect Storm [Blu-ray]
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Coming from a fishing town in Alaska, this film hits especially close to home. Although the Bristol bay crabbing fleet has lots worse weather and loses lots more lives and boats than we do, we still have our share of boats that sink in bad storms. Some people complain that The Perfect Storm doesn’t have a happy ending, well “welcome to the real world”. It wouldn’t have been realistic at all if any of the crewmen would have survived. There has also been some complaints about the weak roles that the actors play. I know alot of fishermen and deckhands, I have done some long-lining myself, and those men and women acted perfectly normal; no great, awesome speechs; you never see a bunch of fisherman get super emotional and powerful; but often there is alot of passion shown for fishing since it is not only a job, but a way of life. All in all, the movie was very realistic and powerful. Last of all, hats off to the coast-guard men and women who risk their lives daily to save others. It is very much appreciated among all fisherman and sea-farers; especially those who have been rescued by them. It’s a great film that hits close to home. I highly recommend it
Review by for The Perfect Storm [Blu-ray]
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The Perfect Storm is a really good movie. The special effects were MORE than perfect, and the acting was great. I didn’t think the characters were paper-thin at all. At least ~I~ found myself sad at the end.The fact is, people – who really went to see a 2 1/2 hour-long movie and expected a fully ACCURATE portrayel of a ship lost at sea? To act disappointed that they made half the movie up is ludicrous. It was LOOSELY based on a real-life account. I found it to be a great fictional story that had me on the edge of my seat. Through all this people still tend to shoot this movie down based on the fact that it is more sentimental than action-packed. Maybe so. But I think that the main point of the film was to make the audience feel for the characters on board and their families and friends waiting back home. The sentiment really made the movie. (BTW, I thought there was TONS of action)I really liked this movie and would recommend it to anyone.
Review by Michael John Gariti for The Perfect Storm [Blu-ray]
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Okay, so for the first 1.5 to 2 hours you may be bored, just a lot of BS about cutting & cleaning fish. However, during that time you really bond with the characters and get to know them personally. Then, they go broke. They need to score a big load of fish. When better to fish then during “the storm of… forever”? (None, because the fish come out when it rains). But with the storm comes some violent seas. Some sato-machismal, be all that ends all, VIOLENT seas. From the first flash of lightning, until the very last second, WOW! Believe me, you’ve never seen anything like it! If you bave a big screen & digital surround, this is a must-have. If not, it’s a must-rent.
Review by Christopher J. Jarmick for The Perfect Storm [Blu-ray]
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The special effects are quite good. It’s likely you will be too caught up in the various rescue attempts at the end of the film you won’t much care if a slight digital tear is noticeable, or if a shot suddenly shifts perspective to cover up something that you shouldn’t see. The last hour of The Perfect Storm — from an enjoyable fishing sequence, through the inevitable, predictable, mother of all storm sequences, is very good film-making indeed. It’s unfortunate the first hour is such by the numbers, t.v. disaster movie of the week junk. The rather thinly drawn characters are quickly introduced with scenes owing a great debt of gratitude to Steinbeck’s Cannery Row and Hemingway. On top of the cliche’s the almost stock characters have been somewhat cleaned up to preserve a PG-13 rating. The fact these stock, thinly drawn cliched characters are played by actors who are capable of delivering good performances but aren’t asked to try very hard to do so, only makes its worse. The Script isn’t awful but its most likely one of those scripts by committee where dozens of hands fine tuned the thing until it was as slick, manipulative, and politically correct as possible although only Billy Wittliff gets final writing credit. He based the screenplay on the book by Sebastian Junger which centers around the fate of the Gloucester, Mass. Sword fishing boat, Andrea Gail, and its crew.Since the film is based on a well known true story from a best-selling book, the film probably won’t have any element of surprise which might cut way down on the suspense factor for you. I give a lot of credit to director Wolfgang Petersen, the films editor, composer James Horner, the production designer and the special effects crew for making the last sequences as thrilling and exciting as they are. We meet the crew of the ship and some of their friends. There’s the salty bitter Capt. Billy Tyne (George Clooney ) who’s had a run of bad luck recently and is almost desperate to redeem himself with a large catch of fish. There’s the veteran fisherman, Murph (John C. Reilly) who has a love/hate relationship with the sea. He also doesn’t get along at all with fellow crewman, Sully (William Fichtner). We aren’t sure why they are at each other throats except it might have something to do a former fishing trip or perhaps some old rivalry over Murph’s wife. Murph has separate from his wife because of the hard fishing life he won’t give up, and you see he loves his 9 or 10 year old son very very much. We know this because rather than get laid, he prefers to play pool with his son in the local pub. There’s Bobby (Mark Wahlberg) the new guy, who’s just become addicted to the sea at the same time he’s fallen in love with the girl of his dreams a divorced mom of two (Diane Lane). He’s torn between his love of adventure and fishing and missing his woman. There’s the dumb guy Bugsy (John Hawkes), who lacks social skills of any kind and serves as a source of much of the film’s humor as he attempts to get laid and then is befriended by a large woman in a supposed to be genuine way. We also have Alfred Pierre, (Allen Payne) a Jamaican who is fishing for the paycheck, but has been with the `Skip’ for several fishing trips.There’s also fellow Captain Linda (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who likes Captain Billy Tyne and hints she’d like to be more than friends to him. It’s another mostly thankless cardboard role for a very capable actress. Let me make a quick mention of actor Michael Ironside, who plays the owner of the fish company the various ship captains sell their fish too. For years, this Canadian actor has made a career of wonderfully portraying some of the slimiest villains and unlikeable characters you’ve ever seen (you won’t ever forget him from Scanners). He always seems to find a way to elevate even the dullest of stock characters into something, somewhat memorable. The crew go out too far to go after their fish and when the ice machine breaks down they decide to try to fight their way back through the storm (they underestimate) so their huge catch of fish doesn’t spoil and they make lots of money.There’s another group of folks who are literally inserted into the film. We don’t know a thing about them except they are played by capable actors Cherry Jones, Bob Gunton and Karen Allen.. All we know is they are on a luxury sail boat and as we cut back to them on occasion we realize they will be caught in the big storm. Yes, there is a very exciting attempt rescue sequence involving these people, but it’s an insult to these actors at how completely wasted their talents are playing special effect extras. They aren’t even given enough screen time to develop cardboard Irwin Allen type caricatures. Mark Wahlberg and John C. Reilly and George Clooney appear very comfortable with each other. They’ve paired up in various combination in films like Boogie Nights and The Three Kings. Unfortunately there really isn’t much for them sink their teeth into, in terms of character, or character driven development. This film turns an actual tragic event into a special effect extravaganza along the lines of the biggest budgeted Irwin Allen film ever made. I guess Irene who’s was left on the shore waiting for Bugsy is the Shelley Winters of the film.Yes, the last hour of the film manages to thrill and excite. The film-makers know their stuff which should come as no surprise because the director Wolfgang Petersen helmed the impressive near classic Das Boot (about the Germans in the submarine) almost 20 years ago. I guess what bothers me most is that so many talented people were involved in this project, it’s very disappointing they all signed on to what amounts to little more than a very expensive by the numbers disaster movie of the week. Everyone should have concentrated on making a good film, not just one with some thrilling special effects.Chris Jarmick co-Author of The Glass Cocoon (with Serena F. Holder) – a steamy cyber thriller available after January 2001. Please order it today.
Review by Reviewer for The Perfect Storm [Blu-ray]
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In late October, 1991, the commercial swordfishing boat Andrea Gail left Gloucester, Massachusetts, headed for an area just off Nova Scotia known as the “Flemish Cap.” The weather in the North Atlantic in the fall is always chancy, but Captain Billy Tyne (played here by George Clooney) had been the victim of some poor harvests of late, and he needed fish; moreover, he knew where to find them. He was also aware of the risks involved at that time of year. What he didn’t know and could not foresee (nor could any meteorologist have predicted), was that three major storms were about to converge to form one huge storm, the likes of which comes along only once in every hundred years or so. And the course he had set was about to take him, his boat and crew of five men, right into the middle of it. Director Wolfgang Peterson recounts this incident in “The Perfect Storm,” a deftly crafted and intense rendering of the story of the Andrea Gail, and its encounter with the storm of the century. What Peterson did with this film, the way he tells the story, can be likened to what Melville did with the novel, “Moby Dick;” as it moves along, he fleshes out the characters and subtly provides an intimate portrait of what this kind of life is all about. He pays such meticulous attention to details, that by the time you’re in the middle of the storm, the impact is extraordinary; you know what this boat is and how it works, you’ve smelled the fish and the sweat and the sea, and worked alongside the crew. You know these people and what’s at stake here. You know the feel of the fishing lines and the grappling hooks, felt that rush of adrenaline that comes when you hook a big one, or when a huge wave washes over the deck. He gives you so much in this film, puts you in it so completely, that it primes your senses for whatever’s to come. Combine all of this with the best special effects imaginable, outstanding performances, and a terrific score by John Horner, and you’re in for the thrill of a lifetime. The charismatic Clooney is exemplary here as Tyne, and is able to convey a real sense of who this man is without resorting to unwarranted theatrics or bravura. He simply knows him from the inside out, and it shows in the way he carries himself, the way he walks and talks, right down to the look in his eye; the seasoned professional with all the skill and confidence required of his job, but a man who is nevertheless also aware of his own shortcomings. It’s a commanding performance with nuance and depth, all there on the screen, and Clooney makes it real. Mark Wahlberg is also outstanding as Bobby Shatford, the rookie fisherman who can’t stand to be more than two feet away from the woman he loves, Christina (Diane Lane). Another notable performance is turned in here by John C. Reilly, who does an emotional turn as “Murph,” the veteran fisherman who is divorced, has a young son he loves dearly, and lives with the remorse of past mistakes that ultimately destroyed his marriage. Rounding out the exceptional supporting cast are William Fichtner (Sully), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Linda), Allen Payne (Alfred), John Hawkes (Bugsy) and Michael Ironside (Bobby Brown). There are thrills and heroics to spare in “The Perfect Storm,” but it’s also inspiring; once you’ve seen the Coast Guard in action, for example, you’ll never take them for granted again. What makes this such a great movie, though, is that it’s about real people, an instance of ordinary people getting caught up in extraordinary circumstances, and Peterson has made them accessible; these are people with whom anyone in the audience will be able to identify. This is a powerful, emotionally charged and unforgettable film; it will take you to places and you’ll experience things from the comfort of your seat in the theater (or on the couch) that most people will never get close to in real life. And therein lies the true magic of the cinema; this is one movie you absolutely do not want to miss.