Many older people will remember seeing The Poseidon Adventure in 1972.  It was one of the big blockbusters of that year and drew in huge audiences who enjoyed this first of the major disaster movies.

There was the luxury liner, the tidal wave, the upturned ship, the survivors’ gruelling journey through the ship and out.  Gene Hackman led the group, a minister on leave who sacrificed himself for the others.  Shelley Winters did her now famous underwater swim and Maureen McGovern sang ‘There’ll always be a morning after’.  Lots of study groups and classes in those days watched it, discussed the values and saw some religious imagery in the climb to the light and new life as well as the giving up of his life by a Christ-figure.

It’s not quite the same this time.  Not that the film is not an entertaining summer movie.  It is, for those who enjoy a rather relentless fight for survival.  But, in the re-writing Paul Gallico’s tale and updating it, most of the religious elements have disappeared.  It is now a secular adventure, the only religious symbolism being a cross pendant on a Latin American character which is used as one of the means to loosen some bolts and get the group further to safety.  It is certainly treated with some reverence as it is put back around the neck of the dead woman.

The self-sacrificing hero this time is a former fireman and former mayor of New York City, played by Kurt Russell.  His motivation comes from the fact that his 19 year old daughter (Emmy Rossum) and her fiance (Mike Vogel) are among the small group making their way to the bottom of the ship – which is now the top.  No scenes of prayer or questioning what God wants of people.

The other hero is a modern gambler (Josh Lucas), one of those types who used to move from western town to town or travel the showboats on the Mississippi.  He is the main character who is transformed by the experience, thinking at first only of himself but helping a mother and her young son and becoming more selfless as they go on.

For those older members of the audience, Richard Dreyfuss (looking older than all of us) portrays a lonely man contemplating suicide but whose will to live as he contemplates the wave is stronger.

There is no big single swimming scene.  Rather, this time everybody has to hold their breath and move underwater through the flooded holds.  It is a tribute to the direction and editing that many of the audience will be wondering how they would manage and imagining holding their breath – or actually trying to hold it as they watch.

In fact, this is the strength of the film.  It makes the whole accident and the consequences credible.

The rogue wave means more to most people after the terrible disaster of the 2004 tsunami.  In cinema terms, most of us have seen Titanic and are aware of the power of nature destroying even the largest and best equipped of ships.  The passengers on the Poseidon have the option of staying together in a large air pocket and wait to be rescued or try to move through the ship and find some outlet.  The film makes it all plausible as they go step by step (the action of the film corresponding to real time), using their wits, exercising courage and overcoming fears.

The film moves briskly enough and comes in at under 100 minutes.  

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