Deep Water Horizon Review

Deep Water Horizon Review

Rented this film on Amazon tonight. Director Peter Berg and the rest of the team did an excellent job of keeping the humanity in the characters. The power play that ultimately caused the disaster was felt from the beginning as the crew gathered for their flight to the Deep Water Horizon.

As with all disaster films, be prepared to sit on the edge of your seat. You will find from time to time that it gets really quiet forcing you feel the seconds slipping by and the danger growing exponentially. Despite knowing that the rig burned for 87days spilling millions of gallons of oil, you keep hoping that someone will have that magic moment that saves the day. Ultimately, it is all of the small acts by individuals that get the workers off the rig saving 109 of the 120 souls aboard.

Gina Rodriguez, as Andrea Fleytas, really showcased how a woman manages in such a testosterone saturated job. In the film, she initiated the distress call despite arguing with her male colleague. Later she starts to head for the pipe cutoff and is stopped again by her male colleague because neither has the authority to do so. The delay in attempting to cut the pipe ended with the pipe breaking and exasperating the entire situation.

This is well worth the investment of your time and the rental fee. I expect you, like myself, will compare this human story with the one of corporate greed that played across the media almost 7 years ago. One of the aspects of this story that was lost has been returned to us with the film. The crew at ground zero did their best to prevent a greater disaster and we should not forget that 11 of them gave their lives in the process.