For much of Deepwater Horizon you could be forgiven for forgetting it is based on a true story. Instead it feels more like a typical disaster movie from the golden age of those films. Mark Wahlberg’s blue-collar-hero, Mike Williams or his no-nonsense boss (Mr Jimmy, Kurt Russell) would have been plum roles for Charlton Heston. John Malkovich’s marvelously hammy BP executive follows in the tradition of mayors refusing to close beaches or roller coasters or cancel parades as disaster looms.
This unashamedly old-fashioned film is terrifically enjoyable. I particularly liked the opening-half, where we see the oil rig workers going about their routines. The characters’ interaction and banter seem very believable. When the inevitable happens, the action scenes are expertly handled by director Peter Berg. Mercifully, there is barely any CGI and you can almost feel the heat coming off the screen. Occasionally it is hard to work out which characters are involved at any given time, because of their protective clothing and the muck being spewed over them, but that adds to the chaotic nature of those scenes.
There are some flaws; most notably a lack of strong female characters. Andrea, played by Jane the Virgin’s Gina Rodriguez, is set-up as such in her early appearances but ultimately becomes nothing more than a damsel-in-distress. However, this is a true story, sticking pretty closely to the facts, and the environment depicted is an overwhelmingly male one. Also, there is some religious-based mawkishness near the end, but that is only to be expected in a film designed to appeal to mass American audiences.
Possibly the best action movie of the year.
Rating 8 out of 10