[yasr_overall_rating]
A story set on the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which exploded during April 2010 and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
Films are graded on numerous aspects and some value one thing more than the other but I value the ability to tell a story and to communicate emotion as a much-needed goalpost for the film to pass through in order for it to be great, and “Deepwater Horizon” did just that. Anger. That is what was felt at the screening of “Deepwater Horizon.” Not being able to sit still, squirming in the seat, hand running through your hair, overly shaking kind of anger. I am not ashamed to say I got emotional during the viewing only because of the thought of the loss of life that took place on April 20th, 2010. Eleven hard working men who had families lost their lives because of the carelessness of a company that valued its profit margins more than its employees safety. I have previous experience working on a rig (A super single for those who are adept at rig terms) and while the overall ordeal was disastrous for myself, the men I worked with were individuals with incredible stories, putting in hour after hour to provide for those they cared about, all while company men, white hats, were sitting back with their feet up throwing their power around just like in this film. It seems like the populace has forgotten about that disaster and the damage it caused to families as well as the environment. 210 million gallons or 4.9 million barrels of oil were spilled into the ocean and the effects still ripple through the marine ecosystems in the gulf.
“Deepwater Horizon” does an excellent job on multiple fronts during its time describing what took place on the floating city that is Deepwater. It has a great cast behind it and leads with Mark Wahlberg, cast as courageous engineer Mike Williams, followed by the likes of Kurt Russell playing rig foreman Jimmy Harrel and John Malkovich, playing the evil white hat, Vidrine. The production work is spot on. 2016 seems to be the year of the overuse of CGI and while “Deepwater Horizon” relies heavily on that particular aspect, it doesn’t use it to produce mindless insanity with no goal. It all has a purpose and it all has a part in helping progress the story. The CGI in this film isn’t something you roll your eyes at, it is something that takes you and drives you into the film, immerses you into scene after scene. The only drawback to the film is that it is quite short and while it can clearly be seen that the production did a top tier job and didn’t needlessly draw anything out, it felt as though it was missing something, as though the story wasn’t packaged up properly. It’s hard to complain about anything in this film as it was done properly and stayed in line with facts and figures. It may have been blown up slightly but the core is still there for everyone to see. This is a film that many will watch and emotion will run high within the theater. Some will cry, some will be angry, some may even feel both but it can be wagered that almost everyone will love it wholeheartedly. Below are the names of the eleven men who passed on April 20th, 2010. They will be missed.
- Jason Anderson, 35, Midfield, Texas.
- Aaron Dale Burkeen, 37, Philadelphia, Mississippi.
- Donald “Duck” Clark, 49, of Newellton, Louisiana.
- Stephen Ray Curtis, 40, Georgetown, Louisiana.
- Gordon Jones, 28, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- Roy Wyatt Kemp, 27, Jonesville, Louisiana.
- Karl Kleppinger Jr., 38, Natchez, Mississippi.
- Keith Blair Manuel, 56, Gonzalez, Louisiana.
- Dewey Revette, 48, of State Line, Mississippi.
- Shane Roshto, 22, Liberty, Mississippi.
- Adam Weise, 24, Yorktown, Texas.
In theaters Friday, September 30th
