"The Perfect Storm" is bloated with harrowingly real visuals, thundering sound effects, and is a terrifying presentation of the huge, notorious event that occurred along the Atlantic coastline of the United States in 1991 to many unfortunate fishermen. Yet aside from giving us a taste of this catastrophe (in hopes of entertainment?), the film doesn't offer much in the conventions of screenplay or plot, and just as George Clooney, Mark Wahlburg and their crew drift into sea after giving their farewells to their family and abode, the writing is plenty more shallow than the setting, and you might even say exhibiting a "watery" core. We learn of these unfortunate men and their ambitions of "catching the mother load of all fish" consuming their judgment, and while temporarily residing in a Massachussetts seaport, they "live upon the sea", though Mark Wahlburg cannot stand to be distant from Diane Lane (perhaps he shouldn't be a fisherman). For some reason there is much emphasis on the fishermen and their relationships (as apparently these were true acquaintances) throughout the initial half-hour of the film. Is this concentration meant to build a certain compassion and understanding for the characters, thus we become emotionally involved in their plights at sea, or is this a human story meant to occur before their tragic transition and to convey the bereavements that were actually received back home from their loved ones and acquaintances. For whatever the reason, all of the emphasis on the characters is exhausted here, and little besides confrontation and occasional reflection is expressed by the fishermen, as they plunge into the wrath of the sea. When the action occurs, it certainly feels real and is meant to terrify, yet for some reason, our consideration for the characters becomes lost in the feast of visuals, and we can only anticipate that they will face inevitable doom in the scorn of "the beast of the ocean", rather than survive to tell the tale. Though it sounds impossible to imagine, the action eventually became never-ending and somewhat tedious- I was anxious for it to finally end, albeit hardly encouraging the characters' dismal fate. "The Perfect Storm" offers fantastic and laudable visuals, yet lackluster dialogue and plot (it was melodrama watching two of the fishermen "duke it out" at times). A fantastic effort, yet a complacent, somewhat unpleasant, execution. **1/2 out of ****
Review of The Perfect Storm
