"The Pertect Storm" is certainly not a perfect movie. The tale of a group of hearty Gloucester fishermen who go out on a risky post-season cruise for valuable swordfish, it is a drama and an action movie.
Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney are at the top of their profession now; both are almost certain winners at the box office. This summer they are pitted against Mel Gibson in ‘The Patriot,’ and they are undeniably ahead. This movie redeems itself in them as they are enjoyable to watch and make an excellent duo.
The movie’s shortcomings are mostly in its workprint – quality composition and editing. There are subplots that lead unnamed characters through meaningless hazards, wives and girlfriends who are thrust into the limelight during time that could be used to flesh out the main characters, and foolish editing that leaves us wondering, at times, what is going on. Bobby Shatford (Wahlberg’s character) has the most meaningful ‘conflict’ of anyone in the movie, as he is tied to Christina Cotter (Diane Lane), his love interest back on shore. The rest of the men on the periled fishing vessel really have nothing to live for, and we don’t care about their characters. Clooney’s character, Captain Billy Tyne, is practically schizophrenic in his giddy leadership and encouragement and his morose brooding and swearing when things don’t go his way, and we can’t really feel sorry for him when the movie takes away his dreams.
It’s probably no surprise that this movie is all about its special effects. There’s nothing wrong with that, and the effects themselves are tremendous. Shots of supertankers foundering in 60-foot waves are amazing and genuinely terrifying on the big screen. The small boats are tossed relentlessly on huge, convincing walls of water. There are probably 2 minutes of footage that are identifiable throughout the movie as computer animation, which is disappointing. Still, many of the storm scenes are exhilarating, and if you go to this mocie you should be prepared to be satisfied with the effects and not much more.
In writing this review, I can think of a lot of things that are wrong with this movie, but it’s disheartening to write about all of them. It should suffice to say that this movie is very badly written and poorly edited, but there are some good performances and exiting scenes. Besides the sea action, be on the lookout for a captivating, sexy performance from Diane Lane, a solid, believable role for Mark Wahlberg, and some intense character acting (despite awful lines and scene writing) from George Clooney.
The film is a true account of the courageous men and women who risk their lives every working day, pitting their fishing boats and rescue vessels agai...More at HotMovieSale.com
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