Rating: 
Summary: Get the Widescreen Version
Review: I have also written a review for the Widescreen version of this movie (having seen both) and as great as this movie is, something gets lost without the full picture. So much is made of Computer graphics these days that some movies are often slave to their design, but not this movie. As stunning and believable as the action sequences are, they take a back seat to an accomplished and gritty performance by a talented cast. The script is great, and the characters are very close to what one feels the real people this movie is based on must have been like. Apart from one small action scene, poetic license seems not to run amuk here and although you probably know how the storys ends, it is none the less engaging and gripping. I saw this movie at the theater and am still a believer that this is the best place to see a specatcle such as this, but was impressed with it's transition to VHS. The film also has an enduring quality that will mean it can be watched several times, and won't be a "watch it and let it gather dust on the video shelf". A great addition to anyones home collection, but the widesceen version gets the extra star on the rating.
Rating:
Summary: The movie was hyped, but it lived up to most of it
Review: Personally I don't look for Academy Award winning acting in an action film, nor do I pay much heed to the "Industry Reviews" for a movie. I picked this one up expecting something to pass the time with and some decent special effects.Well I got more than I bargained for! The acting was decent, the story compelling, and the special effects were amazing. Cloony, Wahlberg, and Lane were good in this movie, but didn't stand out. The stand out was the drama of characters and what they do for a living. The character development part of the story brought me closer to the individuals paving the way for my desire to see them make it throught this storm. The storm scenes themselves were masterful to the point where I will never question the courage or guts of a member of the Coast Guard if I ever have the privlege of meeting one. I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys excellent action with a compelling overriding story. The previous reviews I think were a little off the mark..it doesn't take long for this movie to grip you, and it doesn't let go till the end. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing
Review: after reading a bit about this story and seeing wahlberg and clooney work well together in three kings (a far superior movie) i was extremely excited about this. but this was terribly boring, with anticlimatic action sequences, contrived dialogue, and awful acting. whoever wrote the big screen adaption of the book could make good money writing for days of a our lives.
Rating:
Summary: A Film About Stupid People
Review: A well made movie with very good special effects. Ultimately however it is a film about stupid people who die at the end but you don't care because they're stupid.
Rating:
Summary: Splashy & Entertaining
Review: Chris Cotter (Lane) is trying to persuade her boyfriend (Wahlberg), a fledgling commercial fisherman in Gloucester, Mass., to put up for the winter rather than join his mates on the Andrea Gail for one last run of the season. Though she knows they could desperately use the cash he can make at sea, she pleads, "Don't go, Bobby, I got a bad feeling." She may not be seeing dead people just yet, but her sixth sense is right on target. Bobby Shatford and his crewmates are about to run straight into a colossal storm -- in fact, three colliding colossal storms -- that engulfed the East Coast in October 1991, wreaking havoc with anything unlucky enough to be out on the frigid waters of the North Atlantic at the time. The Perfect Storm, based on Sebastian Junger's enthralling 1997 nonfiction bestseller and directed by Wolfgang Petersen (Air Force One), recounts in drenching detail exactly what happened to the Andrea Gail and its six-man crew when nature let loose. Storm's tempest scenes are spectacular, with 100-ft. waves tossing boats like rubber ducks in a bathtub. But when everyone's dry, the movie's a bit wet. On land, characters and their motivations could have been more developed so viewers have heartfelt reasons to care when, late in the film, Andrea Gail captain Billy Tyne (Clooney) and his men recklessly head right into the center of the storm. Spurred on by Tyne's rallying cry, "Are you Gloucestermen?" The most dramatically effective scenes, in fact, have nothing to do with the Andrea Gail's crew but rather show brave coastguardsmen risking their lives to rescue a trio of barely introduced characters from a fancy sloop. Clooney talks tough and literally laughs in the face of danger, letting out maniacal cackles as he muscles his boat through crashing waves. Wahlberg is more affecting, but you know his fate from the moment he promises Lane that this will be his final trip. A splashy adventure film based on true tragic events. And ladies, just an added plus, (sorry guys), Clooney looks so good wet!
Rating:
Summary: No Moby Dick, Jaws or even Titanic
Review: Although the movie at times aspired for all three, the above mentioned works exceeded the grasp of The Perfect Storm. Ultimately the movie made me think of a scene from "Educating Rita" where the teacher discusses the difference between tragic and Tragedy. In the discussion the teacher asks that if a man falls off the roof of his house, is it a Tragedy? The answer, ultimately, was no. It was merely tragic, because there wasn't enough involvement of the man in his own demise. There was no fatal flaw in the man who fell, just a bad judgement call, or perhaps he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. This was central to what was wrong with The Perfect Storm. Had it been done as a documentary with a few dramatised moments, it may have been more effective. As is often the case in movies today, the special effects are the stars. Sadly enough, in this case, the star doesn't turn up until near the end of the movie. It is a credit to Wolfgang Peterson's skill that the movie managed to be as engaging as it was. But in the end what we are left with is a disaster movie which was standard for the worst of the genre from the '70's -- A 10 minute plot bolstered by about 90 minutes of superfluous character development.
Rating: 
Summary: The Perfect Bore
Review: Why would ANYONE want to watch a move when they already know the ending? And if they don't know the ending already, it's revealed - as the first thing that you see in the movie. I'll save you the time and tell you the ending - they all die. Why it's boring: 1: They take 45 minutes to actually set sail 2: They waste time (about thirty minutes) on the rescue of helicopter pilots and of a completely unrelated ship 3: It's predictable. Time after time people are washed off the ship only to be rescued minutes later (with heroic music to top it all off). The ship braves wave after wave after wave. They get through impossible situations. They even see the damn light at the end of the tunnel. Eventually, five minutes before the end of the movie, a giant 500 foot wave comes up and engulfs the ship (just like in the movie poster). As the ship sinks, triumphant music plays as the seamen say goodbye to their loved ones. 4: It uses the classic "set you up, knock you down" strategy. They see light breaking through the clouds only one minute before the giant wave kills them all. 5: You can't see anything. The movie makes you sick with shaking camera angles. All the colors are grayish. 6: Whatever happened to the classic "triumph over adversity" plot? I don't find anything wrong with it. 7: Special effects - the're way, way, way overblown. 40% of the movie is just looking at computer-rendered waves. 8: Things that don't make sense - If you're in a huge storm, you would ALWAYS wear a lifevest. Seems logical, doesn't it? Appearently the people who made the movie don't think so. As the ship sinks, one man manages to escape, but since he had no lifevest (and didn't put one on when he left the ship), he drowned in another giant wave. In essence, "The Perfect Storm" is a boring, overblown, predictable movie that doesn't make sense.
Rating: 
Summary: It was OK
Review: The hype was so built up on this one that it was bound to disappoint. The graphics were great while the men were lost at sea, but it lacked feeling. I was not attached to any of the characters. I wanted them to make it, but it was not that big of a deal. I know this was based on a true story and of course I would have wanted the real men to make it, don't get me wrong. As a movie though, it was average. My best goes to the families that have lost loved ones on the high seas.
Rating:
Summary: Watch TLC's Storm of the Century Instead
Review: Last night, after studying for an Economics exam at College, I was flipping through the channels on the TV around 2am when I noticed that TLC was doing a one-hour special on "The Storm of the Century". This one hour was 3 times as more powerful, and about 5 times as interesting as the Movie rendition of the Storm. Although I must say that the actors which they chose to perform the specific roles, looked EXACTLY like the actual people. The Crows's Nest looked IDENTICAL, the Mother of Bobby Shafford looked IDENTICAL, as did a lot of other features. Two-Thumbs up for recreating the scenes, but I prefer to watch the live-footage from the storm in glouchester. The Perfect Storm was good, but if you ever have a chance to watch this special, do so, you'll enjoy and appreciate it a lot more than the movie.
Rating:
Summary: An Okay Movie
Review: This movie does have great special effects, but these probably won't be as impressive as in a cinema, unless you have a very good audiovisual system. There's enough going on to keep one interested, but nothing very much more than that. In terms of character development, there's not much of that here either. It's kind of like Titanic but the macho, manly version. Overall, it's fun to watch but not fantastic.
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