Rating: 
Summary: Great special effects! Great movie....well.....
Review: In a nutshell, the special effects were VERY good. George and Mark was VERY good. The movie was VERY boring. How's that? Well, it may have been based on a true story about a "perfect" storm, but the entire story of the Andrea Gail is fabricated. No one really knows what happened on the ship. So the author fabricates this "man vs. nature" whatchamacallit and does and OKAY job. The first hour is a snore. "We are men! We men catch fish!" Whatever.Anyhow, it's just like the Titanic, the last hour is better than the first because, and ONLY because, of the special effects. Rent this first.
Rating:
Summary: The Average Movie
Review: I wasn't one of the cynics. I wanted to see this film. I was optimistic. Heck, I even live in Rockport, the next town over from Gloucester. But this movie, except for the special effects, was awful. If you were to strip away all of the digital imagery, the alluring ocean storm, and okay acting, you would be left with a half-baked story that does not establish any basis whatsoever for respecting the protagonist(s). I, for one, was not moved by Clooney's "powerful" Act 2 climax declaration of "I always find the fish!" It was almost laughable. They were going for Scarlet's "I will never go hungry again," and they got something much, much less to put it kindly. The problem was that they were unable to mask - despite a *valiant* effort - what really happened here. A group of men made bad decision after bad decision, with money and greed as their motive, ignoring their loved one's advice, and they got themselves killed. When you strip away all the rhetoric, that's what you get. And I was literally embarrassed for Diane Lane. You know when you go to a talent show and the performer is so bad that you actually feel embarrassed for her? That's how it was with Lane. Not only the accent - I mean please - but the acting. They had her going for the Oscar in every scene, and when I was supposed to feel bad for her, I was literally chuckling and shaking my head. I have never seen such overacting in any movie, ever. Ever. And what about the "Perfect" storm? Why was it perfect? What was so amazing about it? There is almost *nothing* in the movie about the dynamics of the storm system that led to these events. Other than telling you that 3 systems are colliding, there is nothing else mentioned about the uniqueness of this situation. Had it not been for the special effects I would have given it one star. The ocean was magnificent. I'm not even going to talk about the ridiculously unrealistic events that occurred, because you expect that sort of thing in this kind of movie. But I also expected a few other things: Related storylines, believable characters, LIKEABLE characters, and decent acting. In these areas, the film is wanting.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing specal effects,a boat in peril,a terrifying storm.
Review: Academy award worthy specal effects power this Wolfgang Peterson film on a Sebastian Junger book about a yaght and it's crew trapped in a superhuman gail force storm that , powerd it way through Glouchester Mass. in the fall of 1991 .In the small rural town of Glouchester Capt. Billy Tyne was running out of luck having been in a bad fishing season with his crew and the yaght Andria Gail they set out on a fishing expidition but when three storms collide incuding a hurricane loved one wonder weither they will ever see there brave men again, but when the Capt. makes the decision to head into , the storm with the Andria Gail not even a rescue attempt to save them will even save them from there fate as the crew of the Andria Gail pay the tragic price of natures wraith. Much controversy in this movie from the family of the Capt for potraying him as a Capt Ahab like presence but still very amazing specal effects and a tragic storyline it was amazing to see in the theater.The Dvd itself has a firsthand look into the amazing and saddend account of The Perfect Storm and a , worthwhile photo gallery of the The Perfect Storm good sound and great cast George Clooney, Jhon C.Riely ,Diane Lane, Mary Elizabeth Mostrantionio , and Mark Whalberg head the cast in this emtional true story of the most awsome storm nature has ever made.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Disappointing
Review: Critics made this movie out to be the greatest thing in the world. What movie did they see. Some of the scenes were laughable. Mark Whalburg still hasn't convinced me as an actor and George Clooney is just awful. I couldn't relate to any of these characters, I thought the plot was flimsey and they completely wasted Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Did she have significance in this movie other than to fill a female role. This was a very wasted 2 hours.
Rating:
Summary: Has some GREAT effects, an OK movie...
Review: I first saw this movie in the theater and was blown away by the wonderful ocean effects and the sound of the ocean surrounding this boat out at sea. I had some extra cash and decided to preorder this movie online, and as happened to me with another DVD, I got this Perfect Storm DVD about a week early in the mail. Anyway, upon recieving this movie I popped it in and was created with a rather packed Intro video, and then showen a window with water droplets streaming down it along with your standard menu choices. Looking over this DVD, I found the menus to be a little confusing, but still workable. The whole point of this is to watch the great effects on DVD though, and this one is no exception. The thunder booms, the wind howels, you feel like you are right there on the ship. The movie hasn't changed from when it was in the theater, and if you want what others think about the movie read some of the below comments on the movie. The DVD itself though proves itself, and is a welcome addition to my collection.
Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Disapointment
Review: Don't be fooled by the big wave in the trailer for this movie. That's the best part, and you have to wait two hours to see it. And while you wait, you have to sit and listen to horrific dialogue, watch a bunch of sailors curse and fight each other, and see a bunch of New Englanders sit around a TV and watch hurricane coverage on the local news. This movie is boring! There's nothing new about the concept, just another cliched film about man versus nature. Trust me, it's not worth the effort to stay awake throught this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Starts Slow, but Wait Until It Gets Going!
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Completely awesome movie
Review: Great story about a group that sets out in late OCtober to go fishing and never returns great story of survival and willingness to go on. I give this movie 5 stars!!
Rating: 
Summary: an opinion from Gloucester
Review: Believe it or not, I scanned all 110 reviews to see if anybody who even lives in a coastal town put in their two cents about this movie, and found only two folks from Sitka, Alaska. My business is intimately related with the fishing industry and with this story, so when I saw it for the first time, for me it was like attending a memorial service, and I cried for hours afterwards. To know that six men drowned, even to know what happens to the body when one drowns (I am of course referring here to S. Junger's excellent book, The Perfect Storm) is one thing, to watch a depiction of that on film is something else entirely. I was profoundly disappointed in the emotionally manipulative score and the absolutely awful dialogue, and hey you guys, all of our lighthouses have been automated for years--there is no lighthouse keeper's son on Ten Pound Island waving at the boats going out to sea! Honestly, the story is sad enough without that blatent heartstring pulling crap. But holy cow....to watch Hollywood put together with special effects that storm--so impersonal and so devastating--that in itself almost balances out the negatives of this film. Really though, the pros and cons if the film have been explored ad naseum here--let me tell you what you don't know. Wolfgang took extreme pains to "get it right" with the town and with the fishermen. He hired many of them to make sure that every single detail of the fishing scenes was right on. And it was--every fisherman that I've talked to has said that it was absolutely accurate. And the swordfish--one of my friends works for the fisheries, setting regs for swordfish catches, and he said he didn't know until deep in the credits that all of the swordfish used in the movie were fake. In fact, somebody called the department of health here concerned that a swordfish had been sitting out in the sun on the dock all day...one of the props for the movie. How realistic were the characters? This has been the feedback I've gotten. Bugsy was right on--just like that. Sully was not anywhere near such an jerk. Mark Wahlberg captured something about Bobby Shatford that was almost intangible--the way he smiled, the way he laughed--just the energy around him. Billy Tyne, in spite of what his ex-wife is alleging (and trying to sue WB for) was not a suicidal tyrannical maniac (and I don't think he came off that way in the film either). The woman who played Ethel Shatford also managed to capture something of Ethel's energy. And here's a blooper for you--check out the movie poster--major proportional screw up! The Andrea Gail was 100 ft long. So if you do the geometry, the wave depicted is over 200 feet high! It was out before they could catch and fix it. If you even remotely liked this movie, I would strongly urge you to get the book. Sebastian Junger took great pains to not put words in the mouths of these men (something Hollywood unfortunately has no qualms doing), but instead built a strong, journalistically solid structure of buttressing information, interviews, details, research--all on every single detail of what the men on that boat probably experienced on their trip. Sounds dry, it's not--he even makes wave mechanics fascinating (how does a wave get to be 100 feet tall, anyway?) It also goes into much more detail about the Coast Guard rescue (wow, talk about heroes) and the other boats in distress. The movie? Eh--I won't see it again--the dialogue would probably lead me to throw something heavy through the tv screen. It's a shame-not that anybody's expecting Shakespeare, but cliche after cliche? Blech.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL SPECIAL EFFECTS, CHARACTERS COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER
Review: This is a tough movie to evaluate. Let me begin with the easy part: the hurricane special effects are incredible .... easily FIVE-plus stars. But it is not so easy to pin down the quality of the story line and characters. Sometimes, once in awhile they approach five stars ... but too often the script and characters in it become limp, descending to three star quality. Well, let me tell you why. BASIC STORY: A fishing ships crew knowingly take a big chance by heading out to sea for commercial fishing in treacherous October. What no one can imgaine is that a very unusual weather front is combining with a hurricane to produce the most powerful storm ever heard of. But it is the screenwriter and director's job to create an interesting angle to this story. For example, what produced this special storm ... scientifically speaking? How does an experienced captain, indeed, manage to get his/her ship through a hurricane? The audience is expected to take all of these things at face value without the writer/director skillfully filling in the factual blanks. THE PERFECT STORM is based on a true story that involved real people. But the people portrayed in this movie didn't seem to have lives outside of fishing and the coming storm. During the first hour, George Clooney and his group make speeches about how they love fishing. But why??!! John C. Reilly alone presents us with something memorable as Murph, a fisherman who sorely misses his son. Murph even loves his ex-wife. That's kind of interesting, and thereby Murph seems to be a real person. Then all during the second hour of the movie, the crew shout sailor-talk orders to one another, nearly drowned out by the screaming hurricane. Aside from struggling to keep their fishing boat afloat, the crew caught in the so-called Storm of the Century seemed to otherwise have celluloid lives. In conclusion, the actors were certainly good at playing their roles ... but there wasn't that much to play. Their characters were two dimensional. So that's wasted talent. Most of the productive talent in this movie was expressed by the special effects director(s) who created for us the realistic spectacle of fishermen in a relatively small boat caught in a terrifying force of nature: THE PERFECT STORM.
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