I watched THE PERFECT STORM (2000) for the first time yesterday. It’s a white-knuckler, true story of the six-man crew of a Massachusetts fishing vessel who are caught in one of the largest hurricanes in modern history.
STORM is mounted for maximum impact and suspense. The cast, headed by George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg, are all solid actors and do a great job of depicting what life is like in one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
When the storm hits, there are two parallel story lines of search and rescue involving three people on a private sailboat and the crews of a Coast Guard helicopter and cutter. These sequences are as tense as the ones on the fishing boat, but these stories do not all end the same.
The special effects are jaw dropping, a seamless combination of tank work and CGI effects.
Director Wolfgang Petersen made his first big splash (sorry) coming out of West Germany (yes, that’s right, look it up) with his monumental WWII epic DAS BOOT (1981). A suffocatingly claustrophobic film about the crew of a German U-Boat during the war ranks as possibly the greatest submarine movie ever made and one of the top ten best WWII films ever made.
Petersen found work in the U.S. helming handsomely produced thrillers like IN THE LINE OF FIRE (1993), in which Clint Eastwood plays a Secret Service agent. Petersen passed away in 2022 leaving behind a body of work composed of engaging, always watchable films.
THE PERFECT STORM is a gripping, achingly heartfelt film. Definitely worth a watch.
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