The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Slippery slope
Destruction of oil rig in ‘Deepwater Horizon’ is so entertaining that it’s almost a problem
Boom goes the oil rig! ¶ “Deepwater Horizon” — a big-screen dramatization of the 2010 explosion on the massive oil rig of that name that took the lives of 11 crew members and caused the largest oil spill in U.S. waters — is a technical achievement. ¶ Director Peter Berg and his special-effects team put on quite a show re-creating the disaster. The film was screened in advance at an IMAX theater, and the visuals and sound — namely the bone-crushing audio effects — were really something.
On the other hand, “Deepwater Horizon” is rather generic when it comes to its characters and, as a result, its storytelling. The good guys are good, and the BP execs who push for drilling despite some alarming conditions are, well, not so good. And when you have Mark Wahlberg front and center in a movie, you know you’re not getting the most interesting of heroes.
Still, there’s enough here to recommend the drama.
First, a bit of background: At the time of the fire, Deepwater Horizon was owned by Transocean, which leased it for drilling to BP. The mobile rig was positioned about 40 miles off the Louisiana coast.
In the film, Wahlberg portrays reallife Transocean chief electronics technician Mike Williams, who along with others from the company are about to endure a 21-day stretch on Deepwater Horizon.
We first get a taste of Mike’s family life, centered around wife Felicia (Kate Hudson) and adorable daughter Sydney (Stella Allen).
We get the first hint of bad times to come when a soda can Mike and Sydney are using to illustrate how the rig drills for oil explodes on the kitchen table.
(The problems are further portended when the helicopter carrying Transocean personnel to the rig suffers a violent birdstrike.)
Once aboard the rig, the Transocean team leader, James Harrell (Kurt Russell), aka “Mr. Jimmy,” isn’t happy with the fact there are numerous mechanical issues and, more importantly, that tests he views as crucial haven’t been performed before a big drilling is to take place.
Much to the displeasure of onboard BP executive Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich), Mr. Jimmy insists a pressure test be run, and the results are terrible.
“Gentlemen, I hate to say this: That is a bad test,” Mr. Jimmy says.
But Vidrine applies pressure, insisting if a different test is run successfully, the bad readings on the other can be attributed to a harmless problem. There is reason to believe he’s correct, so Mr. Jimmy agrees to the new test, which does, in fact, come back with a perfect reading. So, reluctantly, he agrees to the drilling.
You can imagine what happens from there.
Well, maybe you can’t. This is where “Deepwater Horizon” truly shines. While, to be fair, it’s an engaging movie experience for the first 45 minutes or so, as we get a taste of the goingson aboard the rig even as we don’t understand much of the technical jargon the characters are using. However, when all heck — and oil — starts to break loose, the movie is thrilling, if also terrifying and tragic.
Berg and Enrique Chediak, the director of photography, use a constantly moving camera — including sweeping, perspectivechanging shifts — to give the movie a needed energy before, during, and after the explosion.
“Deepwater Horizon” is at its most ordinary, though, in the movie’s final act, when Mike and others try to do what they can to stop the disastrous flow of oil and then to help others to safety. It’s OK dramatic stuff, but that’s all it is. We also get very ordinary cutbacks to a worried Felicia to remind us what’s at stake for the Williams family.
Berg (“Hancock,” “Battleship”) also teamed with Wahlberg on the fairly strong 2013 Navy SEALS drama “Lone Survivor.” Yet as with that movie, the director makes a few missteps, and those he does are so glaring. A couple of scenes in “Deepwater Horizon,” albeit short scenes that by no measurable means bring down the movie, are cringe-worthy.
Wahlberg, as he tends to do, has chosen a role wellsuited to his skills. He can do the everyman-hero thing in his sleep — he just can’t bring any real range to it or make it anything memorable.
Russell is likewise solid in a supporting role, as is Gina Rodriguez (TV’s “Jane the Virgin”) as Transocean team member Andrea Fleytas. Not surprisingly, Malkovich (“RED 2”) makes the biggest impression in a fairly slight role.
Ultimately, Berg and Co. tiptoe a treacherous line with “Deepwater Horizon.” They come dangerously close to cinematically celebrating the explosion — you easily could argue they do — so they are somewhat understandably heavy-handed in their backing away from that in the movie’s closing moments and reminding of us of the human and environmental cost of the event.
Masterful filmmaking it isn’t, but it is largely entertaining.
“Deepwater Horizon” is at its most ordinary, though, in the movie’s final act, when Mike and others try … to help others to safety.