The Perfect Storm (2000): Dir: Wolfgang Petersen / Cast: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, Diane Lane, William Fichtner: Disaster film that rides viewers through two hours of storms, winds and swordfish to reveal an ending that had me wanting to give it away to those awaiting to rip themselves off. Based on a true story with a storm that is beyond perfect. George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and a host of other fishermen journey to the Atlantic to catch fish but upon their way back they are caught within a massive storm. Cliché filled bore directed by Wolfgang Petersen who previously made another laugh rendered action farce called Air Force One. Terrific special effects are only plus but the cast basically sleepwalk through the entire film. Clooney, Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, and Diane Lane are at the mercy of special effects and none of it is very remarkable. There is a vague subplot that involves William Fichtner as a former lover to the John C. Reilly character's wife but it really doesn't matter. This film exists purely for its production values despite its ad campaign boasting its true story bases. It is nearly two hours of torture watching these fisherman meet their death. What is the sense in that? All this work within a screenplay that isn't worth a dime of it. The best way to deal with a film of this disappointing nature is to flush it down the toilet so that it may ride the waves it deserves. Score: 2 / 10

"The Perfect Storm" features some excellent special effects and some good thrills while at sea, but the film ultimately fails to generate real drama. The story spends ample time developing the characters and getting us to know them, but nearly half of it is on land so I felt like I was missing out. My understanding is that if you take the book this film was based on, you take some of the actual facts of what happened on the commercial fishing boat Andrea Gail, you make up a events and toss some wicked special effects together you've got the plot of this movie. Desperate for money after a series of bad catches, Captain Billy Tyne (George Clooney) and his crew, consisting of Mark Wahlberg as Bobby, John C. Reilly as Murph, William Fichtner as Sully, Allen Payne as Alfred and John Hawkes as "Bugsy" all set sail… unaware that there is a storm brewing on the ocean… The titular "Perfect Storm"! Once at sea the crew spends so much time barely making it through the day and bickering between each other that when they get into some severe weather trouble we really don't feel like they stand a chance. They never proved to me that they can handle your run-of-the-mill stressful situation so when things went bad here, I was underwhelmed. We never see the well-oiled machine that would boldly go into the ocean thinking nothing can stop them so the ensuing streak of catastrophes feels like it was just something inevitable instead of a tragic and frightening development. It'd be like mocking Freddy Krueger on a Halloween night while staying at Crystal Lake. It would be a shock if you DIDN'T end up being in a horrific situation. I also feel like a big gripe that I have with the film is its length. The film also has several sub plots that could have been dropped. At 2 hrs. + this disaster film is way too long for its own good and some audiences will check out way before the titular storm even arrives. Whether you get bored or not you'll likely leave puzzled after seeing the ending. Even though the final events do follow the rest of the film logically and it's clear that it was genuine respect and admiration that inspired the film it's a big miss-step that brings it down even further. In the end it's not really that the movie is that bad as much as it's underwhelming considering how great the well done moments are. I say it's a middle-of-the-road picture because half of the movie is just kind of OK, and when the storm is raging, it's awesome so it averages out to… an average movie. I do admire the special effects though, if this movie was ever released in theatres again, and maybe even in 3-D it would look terrific and I'd jump to the opportunity to see it again. (On DVD, October 29, 2012)

"The Perfect Storm" is an exhilarating portrayal of just how unpredictable Mother Nature can be upon the open seas. Sword fishing vessel Andrea Gail, captained by Billy Tyne (George Clooney) is forced to take a gamble that could end in large, much needed profit or the loss of his ship and crew. A cold front moving from Canada to the east and another front moving in from the west converge off the New England coast in the Atlantic Ocean, feeding the existing Hurricane Grace in the middle. Andrea Gail and her crew must either sail straight through the storm before their haul spoils or turn tail to get out of the hurricane on steroids, thus risking their jobs. The film's meteorologist Todd Gross (Christopher McDonald) deems this highly unusual natural phenomenon terrorizing all in its course "the perfect storm."This "storm of the century" is a cinematic depiction of the actual super storm that took place along the New England coast during the Halloween of 1991. A combination of sheer natural power and technological failure pushes the Andrea Gail and crew to their limits and beyond. Even with the U.S. Coast Guard scouring the Atlantic with all their resources and search- and-rescue expertise, this meteorological disaster of epic proportions shows no mercy and yields little hope for survivors. "The Perfect Storm" serves as commemoration to the thousands of fishermen who have lost their lives seeking the Atlantic's bounty and truly reminds its audience what it means to be alive, and dry.

I had the misfortune of seeing this on cable on one of those channels that runs tons of commercials and "pop-ups" on the screen. See it uncut. Parts of it are truly spellbinding and shouldn't be diminished by interruptions. In essence, a perfect storm is a situation where everything goes completely wrong at the same time. Here we have a film, based on the true story of the boat "The Andrea Gale", of 6 brave fishermen trying to make a living in one of the most dangerous of all professions: They are underpaid sword-fishermen, from Gloucester, Mass. On their journey, one gets tangled up in the bait-hook line and is pulled overboard. One is nipped badly by a shark. Many overboard rescues, as they battle the storm due to desperation for the "perfect catch" and travel too far away from safe waters. Not for the squeamish, as baiting, harpooning and gutting the catch is vividly portrayed. The "Storm of the Century", in 1991, was the intersection of as many as 3 different (or more) tropical storms off of Bermuda. Most of the action, as the doomed crew tries very desperately to turn the boat around, is both fanciful and actual, because after the radio failed, no one knows exactly what really happened. The ship's mast breaks. The refrigeration fails. The anchor crashes through the windows. A Coast Guard helicopter goes down trying to attempt rescue. (They run out of fuel because they rescue people from a small yacht on the way there, and then airborne refueling fails.) Had they been able to fly directly to the boat, a rescue might have been possible. So many things go wrong at once that the brave crew never has a chance. An unbelievable giant "wall of water" capsizes the boat for the very last time. The perfect disaster. Fantastic action and special effects. Some salty language. The storm scenes "feel" real. Great performances by George Clooney and Mark Wahlburg. Quite an intense experience, and I saw it on a "small" 50 inch screen!