Deepwater Horizon is a disaster epic actually worth watching

IT MAY have big explosions but Mark Wahlberg’s new movie is that rare disaster movie that is thrilling without sacrificing the story.

REVIEW

WHEN the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, the Macondo well beneath spewed forth millions of barrels of oil, resulting in the worst environmental disaster in US history.

The aftermath has largely focused on corporate malfeasance and neglect, as well as the devastating effects the BP oil spill had on the people, the wildlife and the environment of the surrounding region.

But scant attention has been given to the explosion itself, and the 11 people aboard the doomed oil rig who died when the unthinkable happened and malevolent fireballs lit up the dark night sky.

It’s healthy to be sceptical about Hollywood blockbusters based on real-life events and people — more often than not, those movies tend to be overwrought and very American.

But somehow, for the most part, Deepwater Horizon is a decent disaster movie, underpinned by the gravity attached to an event which claimed 11 lives.

Despite knowing the “ending” of the film, director Peter Berg has done a brilliant job in ratcheting up the tension.

Berg scatters unnerving portents throughout the first half of the film — one character’s young daughter likens the oil underground to monstrous “dinosaurs” while another character revels in the steel and metal temple that is the Deepwater Horizon, a sure-fire sign that mankind’s hubris is about to be punished.

This image released by Summit shows Mark Wahlberg in a scene from, "Deepwater Horizon." (David Lee/Summit via AP)

The film follows the day of the core characters — rig boss Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell), chief mechanic Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg), floorhand Caleb Holloway (Dylan O’Brien) and Andrea Fleytas (Gina Rodriguez) — before the cataclysmic event happens.

The crew are battling profit-hungry BP executives desperate to start drilling despite the rig team’s objections over safety checks and protocols. The disputed negative pressure test result that triggers the start of drilling has a “don’t go into the basement” feel about it.

All the while, bubbles are escaping from the ocean floor, from beneath the laid-down cement that wasn’t tested. It’s a time-bomb and the audience knows it.

By the time the disaster strikes, the movie has already wound up a tension as thick as oil.

Scene after scene of explosions and the gush of oil everywhere, coupled with the sound design, is highly effective. Offering no reprieve, Berg isn’t afraid to linger on a sequence, drinking in the raw reactions of people caught in the worst day of their lives. The result is visceral.

The filmmakers of Deepwater Horizon aren’t ambivalent about whom they think is responsible for the disaster with BP clearly adorned with black hats.

Gina Rodriguez and Kurt Russell in a scene from film Deepwater Horizon

As the New York Times article on which the film is based on pointed out, despite its layers of sophisticated safety protocols and defence systems that should have prevented the explosion, every failsafe on the Deepwater Horizon foundered that night. And some of that is down to human error, not an aspect that is paid too much attention — understandably, it doesn’t fit in with the narrative of a heroic escape from an exploding oil rig.

There are times when the emotional scenes become heavy-handed, flirting with the tipping point of manipulative. Case in point, there is a frame where the American flag is waving against the burning rig, something that might play well to a patriotic US audience but is more eye-roll inducing elsewhere. But these incidents, mercifully, don’t dominate.

Deepwater Horizon is that rare disaster blockbuster that is thrilling without sacrificing story or character. It’s actually worth watching.

Rating: 3.5/5

Deepwater Horizon is in cinemas from Thursday October 6.

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Originally published as Deepwater Horizon is a disaster epic actually worth watching