Deepwater Horizon: Movie Review

Director Peter Berg and star Mark Wahlberg follow up their 2013 collaboration “Lone Survivor” with another true-life story about surviving unbelievable odds.  Inspired by the 2010 offshore drilling rig explosion that caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history, “Deepwater Horizon” chronicles the bravery of those who worked on the rig and what they had to go through to survive.

When Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) and his boss Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell) set foot on the Deepwater Horizon for their rotation, they noticed instantly that things weren’t being handled properly. Parent company BP rep Vidrine (John Malkovich) and his team are not happy with the drilling schedule being 43 days behind.  He wants things moving along faster and is willing to look past any potential dangers in the name of profits for BP.  When Vidrine pressures workers into continuing with the drilling, things go bad, really bad.  The Deepwater Horizon explodes, shooting out millions of gallons of oil into the ocean.

Although she does not have the authority to do so, Andrea Fleytas (Gina Rodriguez) sends out the mayday because she knows it isn’t something that can wait.  Once the explosion hits, Berg turns “Deepwater Horizon” into a huge, loud, FX laden action spectacle. Thankfully the grounded performances from the entire cast, help keep things believable.  This is important when telling a story about real life events.  Supporting players Dylan O’Brien, Ethan Suplee, and many more are all really good here.

“Deepwater Horizon” is probably one of the best action films of 2016.  In 2010 during the oil spill, the media focused so much on the ecological devastation, that we didn’t hear much about the survivors of the explosion or those who died.  What was a truly awful incident in recent history seems even more tragic when we see what the crew went through.   If you are looking for an action movie with a soul, then you will definitely want to see “Deepwater Horizon”.

By: Marc Ferman