Deepwater Horizon Preview

In April of 2010, an offshore drilling rig named Deepwater Horizon exploded resulting in the worst oil spill in U. S. History.  If you've read my previous reviews about Eddie the Eagle, Steve Jobs, The Big Short and Spotlight, you know that it's easy to get caught up in the details of how much of the story based on actual events really happened and how much was embellished or altered to make a Hollywood movie.  Along the way, I have made a decision to do no research into the facts of the real-life story and just focus solely on the movie itself.  I mean, the movie makes no claims to be a historically accurate documentary, so I shouldn't hold it to those standards.  And this blog isn't about being historically accurate.  It's based on two factors: how accurately the movie is portrayed by its preview, and the likelihood of the movie making it to my home collection.  With that in mind, let's get right to the preview.

Mark Wahlberg plays Mike Williams who works on the drilling rig the Deepwater Horizon.  But that's the third thing we learn about Williams from the preview.  He's a husband and a father first.  He says goodbye to his family before being flown by helicopter with his crew to the rig.  All his daughter wants is a dinosaur fossil.  All his wife (Kate Hudson) wants is for him to return safely.  Once aboard the rig, an executive named Vidrine (John Malkovich) explains the very simple job: keep all the parts working properly to maximize profit.  Apparently, someone didn't do their job because the rig is building pressure and leaking oil that causes the entire rig to explode.  As reports broadcast live images of the blazing rig to the world, Williams and the remaining survivors must find a way off the floating inferno.

Deepwater Horizon marks the reunion of Director Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg who collaborated on Lone Survivor three years ago.  It was nominated for Oscars for Sound Mixing and Sound Editing and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for best stunt team performance.  While Wahlberg has been nominated for his roles in The Fighter and The Departed, he's one of those reliable actors who makes smart choices.  If you've liked one thing Wahlberg has done, odds are, you'll like them all.  Most of them won't get nominated for awards, but they will all be entertaining.  Berg is in the same category.  He's directed some really good movies (Lone Survivor, Battleship, Hancock, The Kingdom), but none that would really break into a critic's top 50 list.  Like Wahlberg, if you enjoyed one of Berg's movies, odds are, you'll at least feel you got your money's worth with all of them.  And, though it might not be a homerun for either of them, to keep in baseball terms, they'll take the pitcher deep and get extra bases out of their effort.

While Deepwater Horizon looks action-packed and visually stunning, it also looks predictable with pieces of the rig falling apart or blowing up blocking every turn as Williams and the survivors try to find a way to escape.  I'm anticipating 3 stars.  It will be worth the money to watch, I'll probably catch it again once it comes to cable, but it won't be one that finds a place in my home collection.  Am I right?  We shall see.