Deepwater Horizon
(Peter Berg)
The second of three films in which Berg and Wahlberg recreate tragic American history, the other two being Lone Survivor and Patriot's Day. Something about these two guys working together brings out the inner American, where we rally behind them and cheer USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!.
The Deepwater Horizon is a oil drilling rig, drilling off the southern coast of Louisiana on a contract with BP. Workers assigned to test a certain aspect of the drilling site are leaving early and both Wahlberg and Kurt Russell question why. They find out that BP managers are behind it because they want to drill immediately, due to the team being so many days behind schedule. As we all know, things don't go so well for the gentlemen and a massive eruption cripples the drilling station, setting off massive explosions and killing those near it. Now these men and women must fight for survival.
When the BP oil spill happened, all I knew about was the millions upon millions of gallons of oil being spilled into the gulf. Thousands of wildlife dead, homes to them destroyed and the entire act being called the worst environmental disaster in American history. I did not hear about any deaths among the oil drilling rig. So when this film came out, I was asking myself, is this a fictionalized event about the incident? Yes and no. These people did exist, these people did die and I finally have another side to the story.
Wahlberg plays the hero, getting people to safety while battling the wild fire that takes over the entire rig. Expect the same old from him, he does his job adequately here. Russell is in charge and instantly has conflict with the BP managers, played by a sleazy John Malkovich. The BP guys are instantly painted as the bad guys here, they wanted to make money, they didn't know what they were doing. Kate Hudson has the thankless role of concerned wife on the phone. The film is more concerned with spectacle than character. I suspect those wanting to see this are okay with that?
The special effects work well enough to make you believe these people are in danger. The film is a lot of build up to the event, then when it happens, I couldn't help but feel that it sped by quickly and they were off the rig. Berg crafts a suspenseful sequence building up to the chaos and when it hits the fan, it's an intense scene. Well staged and brought to life. I applaud the look of the film, as it didn't feel fake in any of the scenes. The sense of danger was always there.
As was Lone Survivor and I'm sure Patriot's Day, this film is pro-America. There is a particular shot of the American flag blowing in the wind with the rig engulfed in flames directly behind it. The silhouette of a man stands in front watching in horror, tears down his face. Too much? Yes. Berg definitely tries to tug at the patriotic heartstrings here by having 'everyday Americans' on board, but we all know Mark Wahlberg ain't no everyday American. So the emotional aspect loses the spark and the film deflates even further into what I mentioned earlier, this film is all spectacle, no character.
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