I did not hate this movie. I could have sworn I was going to, but I didn't.
Despite changing all the characters names and the particulars of their backstories, the movie stuck surprisingly close to the characters in the novel and the previous movie. And it stuck pretty close to events, adding in a few set pieces - which I mostly found worthwhile.
I was at first little perturbed at how few of the escaping group died, but the body count turns out to be just about the same as in the book and the Irwin Allen film ... just switched around a bit (for instance, this movie's Ernest Borgine dies while its Gene Hackman lives).
I did find it bothersome (but hardly unexpected) that the cop-out factor vis-a-vis character deaths is more potent in 2006 than it was in 1972. In the novel, the little boy simply disappears and goes down with the ship. The original film would have none of that. The remake not only saves the kid, but also spares both the hero's life (trading his for the Ernest Borgnine character) and the "Shelly Winters" character (trading that one for the whiny, freaked out girl who obviously deserves to die anyway).
Other than that, a fine actioner ... with some great over-the-top-of-its-predecessor moments (the new version of the 'Roddy McDowall' death being of particular note).
Alas, all the cool set pieces and neat effects in the world cannot make up for the camp factor achievable in the early 70's or the lack of a memorable Johnny Williams score.
Unlike the Irwin Allen movie, this one is not going down as one of history's cult faves. But I found it perfectly serviceable. Ultimately, though, not enough of a reason to try your hand at remaking a classic.
* * * * * ***
Then ... I went and rewatched the original.
I realized the main problem with this remake is there are no characters that the audience particularly warms to. And, even if there were ... this version doesn't kill any of them or their loved ones, so that the audience experiences grief and sadness and, ahem, drama.
Shelly Winters died, Gene Hackman died, Jack Albertson mourned the loss of his wife, Ernest Borgnine mourned the loss of his. Perhaps audiences today are victims of their own sophisitication in that movies will no longer attempt such melodrama (LINDAAAAA!) ... but the Poseidon remake ultimately fell flat - despite all the cool action - because there were no appealing human characters .... and no true jeopardy is dramaticized if death does not come to some of the appealing human characters.
In this one, they killed off Kurl Russell. Despite being Kurt Russell, I daresay he was
not a character anyone in the audience warmed to. Neither did anyone particularly emphathize with the grief of his daughter, Emma Rostrom. And certainly no one cared when the whiny stowabay bitch died.
Compare with the death of Shelly Winters, and the grief expressed by Hackman and Jack Albertson, or the death of Stella Stevens and the grief of Ernest Borgnine, or the sacrificial-lamb death of Gene Hackman. Hokey as it may have been ... the original Poseidon Adventure was far more saavy as to what makes a good movie.
