(SPOILER WARNING!!! This article does contain spoilers, if you haven’t seen the movie, just see the first paragraph to be informed without spoilers!!!)

Deepwater Horizon is a thrilling movie that packs a survival action punch, it may be a little slow in its development, but it is enjoyable the rest of the way!!!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I remember how big the BP oil spill was when it happened. How it devastated the environment, and almost ruined a lot of business with its pollution. What I didn’t know is how it all got started. I understand why people were angry towards the BP oil company, but I question myself were they really the culprits. When this movie about the explosion of the oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, a lot of my questions were about to be answered. That is what I really cared about most. Not the great cast (with the great Mark Wahlberg, aka Marky Mark), the action, or the survival stories. I wanted to know what really happened, and this real life story really goes deeper than just the biggest environmental disaster in US history.

What I Like: Director Peter Berg crafted this movie as a suspenseful thriller with some great action, but also crafted it to make you think. It shows how greed can make people make really, and I mean really, dumb decisions and not only put people’s lives at stake, but the whole environment. The movie showed how much responsibility BP had in this calamity. The risk they took that cost people’s lives, and had to battle just to survive really made you angry. Once the film got int0 the action mode, director Berg’s action made it edge of your seat thrilling, and hoping these guys will survive. The cast in this group were all great in their roles. The chemistry may be minimal, but enough to show where these oil rig workers stand with each other, and who they respect, and who they don’t. It got to the point, and really made it a spectacle which I appreciated. One scene that made me cringe is when they saved a guy whose leg was severely trapped between two bars. What made matters worse, was his bone which was protruding out of his skin was stuck to the bar, and how they managed to get him out. It was disgustingly good, and there were many other types of thrilling rescues that made this film enjoyable.

The So So: While the great Mark Wahlberg acted well, he didn’t do justice to the real person he portrayed. The real life character he played was a Southerner with a Southern accent which you can hear at the beginning of the movie. Wahlberg didn’t even try to do a Southern accent. Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson did have one, but not him. He was just Mark Wahlberg at its finest which is not a bad thing in my book. The film did a good job of avoiding most clichés in a survival film. It did have some, like the one guy heroically saving a lot of people by sacrificing himself, but I wish one cliché they should of use was give some kind of punishment to the BP guy who forced the workers hand to get the job done, Donald Vidrine played by John Malkovich (and his creepy voice). There was no death for him, no prison time (he was indicted, but no conviction), not even a punch in the face. I was hoping for Mark Wahlberg’s character as Mike Williams would punch him and make him knock down to the floor for what he did. Give some kind of justice at the very least.

What I Didn’t Like: The development was a little slow even though it was necessary. What really threw me was all that work oil rig talk mumbo jumbo which was said, but not thoroughly explained. Once the rig started exploding, the development really was forgotten because of the cool action.

Overall: The film is an enjoyable survival action story that had some good action to watch. It also made you think, and answer some questions on what really happened and who really was responsible for the disaster. It does have everything you need and more to eat some popcorn and watch!!!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

(Sidenote: High-Rise- This apocalyptic film starring Tom Hiddleston as a doctor who moves into some luxurious high rise apartment, and gets acclimated with the people living there. Then people start to get crazy, and it turned into an apocalyptic type of movie. Only problem is, it was all psychological. No zombies, no disease, no anything. The apocalypse that happened really didn’t make any sense to me whatsoever. The ending was very unsatisfying, and left me with more unanswered questions than answers.
Rating: 2 Stars)

(Sidenote: Term Life- This movie started off with potential, about a heist man, played by Vince Vaughn, trying to survive from different people trying to kill him. He needs to stay alive in time for his life insurance policy to kick in for his daughter, played by Abigail Breslin. It was hard to take Vince Vaughn as a heist gangster seriously, and when you think it will be a smart heist type of film, it ends up to be a clichéd film about a guy earning his love from his daughter back. In the end, it was very, very underwhelming, but the shootout action was fun to watch at the very least!!!
Rating: 3 Stars)