The Perfect Storm

Rating:
Summary: A curiosity rather than a full film
Review: Technically-flawless adaptation of a nonfiction book dealing with a monstrous storm that claimed the crew of the Andrea Gail. The film's biggest problem is not its visuals, in which the violence of nature is completely convincing, but its deployment: since the story is 50% speculation and frequently set up with hoary and obvious devices, it doesn't engage the viewer as completely as it might have. An easy film to marvel at but a difficult one to enjoy, and nearly impossible to love.

Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Movie: The Perfect Storm
Review: The perfect storm was an excellent movie. Not just excellent, amazing. First of all, I am an adventure movie fan. Big time. The Perfect Storm is one of the few movies I could watch continually. I loved it. It has great special effects and great acting by George Clooney, coupled with a gripping -true- story. It's not only an adventure, it's a suspense thriller. Constantly keeping you tuned in. I believe it is one of the best movies I have ever seen. If you like thrillers, action, and/or suspense, this is The Perfect Movie: The Perfect Storm.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie but even a better book
Review: this is a good movie but if you want the full story read the book YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK! George Clooney and Mark Walhberg both give pretty good performances and I really like the way they show the other stories the Coast Guard chopper and the ship with all the storage containers over all a good movie and a great book!

Rating:
Summary: Gut wrenching, but awesome!
Review: Sure, as with any movie, it starts off validating the main characters and their personalities. But once the Perfect Storm begins, the action is non-stop. I was on the edge of my seat and squealing out loud in the theater. A few times my legs went flying in the air from the excitement and unexpected moments. Even though I was horrified and disappointed about the ending, it was based on a true story. I am now more reverent and frightened of the ocean than ever before. I loved this movie. I came out of it with my heart and gut up in my mouth.

Rating:
Summary: Why all the bashing?
Review: I read the online reviews to see what others had to say about "The Perfect Storm". I was very disappointed to see that so many people rambled angrily about how bad and "unbelievable" the story was. The truth is, nobody knows exactly what happened in the last hours of the Andrea Gail. Wolfgang Peterson did an excellent job of putting the story he was given onto film. The special effects were extremely impressive, and I think Mark Wahlberg has definitely emerged as an outstanding young actor. I would, without hesitation, recommend this movie to anyone interested in seeing it. While this particular story is only one person's interpretation of how things might have ended for the crew of the Andrea Gail, it is a touching story with a lot of action. I will definitely add it to my DVD collection.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but not "Perfect"
Review: I read the book then saw this movie at the theater. And it was a very entertaining movie, although it did have its flaws.

In the beginning, I agree with other writers here that the movie did push too hard to make you care about the characters. Although I'm not sure what the alternative was - make a longer movie to allow more time to develop feelings for them?

The special effects were amazing. The rubber fish looked real, and the waves looked incredible! Breath-taking!

The movie did a good job of creating tension. You know something explosive will happen once the Andrea Gail reaches the storm (or vice versa), but you must wait for it a bit. The movie flashes between the wild storm scenes and the still-peaceful waters surrounding the Andrea Gail. Exciting.

Now some bad news - the scipt and scenes were at times unbelievable and silly. My fiancee and I joke about the scene (PLOT SPOILER) when the Andrea Gail is going down: Capt. Tyne apologizes to Bobby for "getting you into this mess" and Bobby replies "That's alright cap." The water is quickly rising to their chins and they look downright nostaligic as they chat. Also at the end, when Bobby is in the water and waiting to die - he's peaceful and serene while thinking of his girlfriend. I couldn't help wondering why he wasn't a bit afraid or angry about dying. And yes, the movie does manipulate for tears.

So, my final word is this - it's an entertaining movie. See it on video. But don't expect too much because you'll be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: They only let you go down to one star!
Review: That is too bad, because it deserves none. Two hours of bad writing and questionable acting lead us only to the stupid giant wave we saw in the preview. This film seems to be big with the trailer park crowd, so perhaps I missed something.

Rating:
Summary: What a manipulative piece of c**p!
Review: I simply can't believe that this movie is so popular. The first 45 minutes are a ham-handed attempt at getting us to care about the characters, but the dialogue is so generic and the characters so hackneyed that the attempt is laughable. We are not shown real people, we are *told* what to think. Then we are taken to sea, where we are introduced to some random other characters (in a sailboat, and a helicopter) who are also in trouble. But who cares? I don't care about the main characters, much less these completely random unknowns. The special effects are decent, but even in the storm the writing and acting are wretched. The sailors are stupid and incompetent, and even though they are continually on the edge of death, they have little cheering/bonding sessions every time they fish one another out of the drink. The ending of the movie is embarassingly maudlin, pumping (and pumping, and pumping) for tears after cheating us of any real human beings to care about.

To top it off, the musical score is intrusive and, like the rest of the flick, ham-handed and manipulative. Strings swell every time somebody so much as twitches, until the audience is numb.

I was insulted by this movie, and I'm insulted that audiences no longer have the capacity to be outraged when they are pandered to and their intelligence is repeatedly insulted. Screw special effects -- give me one, just one character that resembles a real human being and not a paper-thin idea in some hack scriptwriter's mind.

Rating:
Summary: The Usually Unsung Heroes
Review: If you want to take this film at face value, the criticism that has followed it has merit. The characters aren't developed as well as they could have been, and the compelling story has the taint of being transformed into a summer event film. The director, Wolfgang Peterson, had a much better film in Das Boot than this one, which was packaged for action and incredible special effects. However, the critics who put down the film for being partially based on theorhetical occurrences are offbase. While no one can know what really happened to the crew of the Andrea Gail, the events portrayed in the film are not terribly unusual for people in this line of work, and are indicative of what could very well have been the case on the fateful voyage.

On the positive side, the cast is well chosen, with George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Diane Lane leading the group. They take what there is to glean from the script and do a fine job of making these characters into people that you do care about by the end of the film. The cast spent months in the town where the characters are based, learning from the families and the friends they had there. This comes through in the performances, all the way to the touching end of the film.

What impressed me most of all, in addition to this film being made at all, is how they managed to capture the every day heroism of the men and women who make their living doing things that most of us never think about in situations so hazardous that even the bravest of us would be daunted by. There are many careers that could be shown in film--beyond the cops and detectives who inhabit the bulk of them--that are done by people who are otherwise unremarkable. The attraction of this film is showing normal people caught in extraordinary circumstances, and how the crew and their families deal with it.

Beyond this, the film's effects are spectacular without taking away from the story. While the viewer watches The Perfect Storm, they are impressed by the imagery without forgetting that these are real people. There are other films that will be better, but this one is unforgettable in its own way.

Rating:
Summary: Too bad it doesn't go to 0 stars
Review: I can't stress enough how BAD this movie was. Worst movie ever. The waves were laughable. The movie was too long. The script was awful, which meant the acting was terrible. I felt sorry for the people around me that were crying and that were afraid of the waves. Horrible. It's sad really, that this flim was critticaly acclaimed...