100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 129: Deepwater Horizon

Director: Peter Berg
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, Gina Rodriguez, John Malkovich, Dylan O’Brien, Kate Hudson

Description: A dramatization of the disaster back in April 2010, when the offshore drilling rig called the Deepwater Horizon created a giant explosion, which created the worst oil spill in American history.

Review: In April of 2010, the biggest oil spill in American history took place in the Gulf of Mexico. Because of a massive leak, oil seeped into the water for almost three months. This oil disaster also had some explosions and heavy fires. This is perfect material for Hollywood. And normally these kind of stories turn into sappy films about heroic people who are praised. That’s at least what I was expecting. But “Deepwater Horizon” is a lot better than I expected it to be and it’s not a sentimental disaster film at all.
Director Peter Berg used the book “Deepwater Horizon’s Final Hours” as his inspiration. It’s basic facts and not a bunch of heroic characters and sentiment. The characters in this film are based on actual people that survived this disaster. And Berg doesn’t try to make anything look better or more beautiful than it is. The central character is technician Mike Williams, who leaves a wife and daughter at home and travel to the platform for three weeks. Williams is accompanied by Andrea Fleytas, a tough young lady working in a men’s world. On board of the Deepwater Horizon, that functions as an explorer to find new oil sources, the team leader is determined to get everything check on safety. The big shots don’t think this is necessary and feel like everything is safe enough, they need to drill. Off course, things go wrong.
Hectic and chaos, not very surprising in a disaster movie. Berg didn’t take the time to be all technical about the cause of the disaster, thank goodness. And the connection between Wahlberg’s character and his wife at home is not turning into a tear jerking and is kept to a minimal. It’s just enough to know that something is terribly wrong and that Williams is a family man.
Berg excels in great shots of impressive explosions and the immense sea of fire. The film keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s a surprising film, because I expected just another over-sentimental disaster film. I was wrong, and I love that actually! “Deepwater Horizon” is a surprisingly great film.

Rating: 4,5/ 5