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Poseidon

8/10

Stars: Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Emmy Rossum, Jacinda Barrett. Mia Maestro, Kevin Dillon

Director: Wolfgang Petersen

There's constant excitement in this rousing remake of the old disaster movie about a huge liner which, hit by a 'rogue' tidal wave, turns upside down in the middle of the ocean.

While the majority of the survivors wait on the ballroom ceiling and hope the windows will hold, a small group headed by Dylan (Lucas) and former New York mayor Ramsey (Russell) decides to climb the ship's eight storeys in a bid to reach the hull.

As the party is forever pursued by rising waters, director Petersen, doing a terrific logistical job, packs the film chock-full of cliffhanger moments of suspense.

Trapped, can they escape? Can they get hatches, lift doors and other blockages open in time? Can they avoid flying debris and flash fires?

The suspense is slightly undercut by the necessity of losing the cast one by one, but this still remains edge-of-seat stuff to the very end.

David Quinlan

USA 2006. UK Distributor: Warner Brothers. Colour.
99 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 12A.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.

Review date: 24 Jul 2006