March 2025

THE PERFECT STORM (2000)

SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 2 Hrs., 10 Min.

Released by Warner Bros. in 2000, director Wolfgang Petersen’s film adapts Sebastian Junger’s same-named 1997 novel. Both Junger’s ‘creative non-fiction’ novel and its cinematic version, to varying degrees, present speculative accounts as to the disappearance of the Andrea Gail, a Massachusetts swordfishing boat, in late October 1991, amidst Hurricane Grace.

In October 1991, Bob Brown’s (Ironside) rival fishing boats, Hannah Boden and Andrea Gail, return from their long-line swordfish expeditions to port at Gloucester, Massachusetts, at the close of the season. While Boden’s captain, Linda Greenlaw (Mastrantonio), suffers a crew fatality, Brown is still pleased with her ship’s impressive haul. Brown, however, chastises the Gail’s captain, Billy Tyne (Clooney), for his own insufficient catch, accusing an indignant Tyne of losing his once-reliable touch. Tyne’s weary crew (Wahlberg; Reilly, Payne; & Hawkes), meanwhile, reunite with their loved ones for the next few days.

Motivated to prove himself, Tyne risks a year-end expedition for a likely lucrative haul without intrusive competition. Recruiting moody “Sully” Sullivan (Fichtner) as a crew replacement, Tyne convinces the other four mates to rejoin him – as they all are seeking an improved payday. Bobby’s (Wahlberg) girlfriend, Chris Cotter (Lane), implores him not to go, given her bad omen about this last-minute change of plans. Bobby, nonetheless, volunteers thinking the potential catch will allow them a sufficient financial cushion together. Similarly, a divorced and lonely Murph (Reilly) seeks distraction upon recognizing his adoring young son (Tank) will likely have a stepfather sooner than later.

Apart from Murph and Sully’s ongoing friction, the Gail’s usual voyage to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland proves uneventful, especially with a disappointingly scarce catch. Opting to push further along the Gulf Stream to The Flemish Cap, Tyne is initially unaware that two storm fronts have converged with the subtropical Category 2 Hurricane Grace rapidly moving up the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. A Massachusetts TV meteorologist (McDonald) realizes in horror what catastrophic weather conditions will imminently commence between Canada and New England.

Finding a treasure trove of swordfish (and one shark attack), the Gail crew’s joy ends with a malfunctioning ice system. Risking a hasty dash back towards Gloucester’s port to save their catch for market sales, the Gail is caught up in the storm. Greenlaw desperately tries warning a distracted Tyne of his vessel’s predicament. The Gail soon loses its radio antenna – and with it, all communications. Ongoing damage to the ship leaves a constantly drenched Tyne and Bobby trying to keep the overwhelmed Gail from capsizing.

Elsewhere, an isolated three-person crew (Gunton; Allen; & Jones) aboard a sailboat bound for Bermuda are among the storm’s prisoners necessitating rescue. Upon saving the sailboat’s crew, an Air National Guard helicopter is subsequently lost at sea next searching for the Gail. A U.S. Coast Guard rescue vessel is the surviving flight crew’s sole hope to escape the raging Atlantic Ocean. At Gloucester, the Gail’s family members anxiously await news at a dockside pub, as the ship’s location is now unknown.

Tyne’s heroic steering buys his crew further time. Yet, the oceanic onslaught shifts in the same direction as their improvised retreat. SPOILER ALERT: As the ship floods, the Gail’s crewmembers ominously sense there is no further chance for escape. The poignant epilogue includes Greenlaw offering solemnly heartfelt words at the crew’s joint memorial service. Greenlaw later contemplates friendly rival Tyne’s insights from an earlier scene, as she departs on her next expedition.

Primary Cast:

Capt. Frank William “Billy” Tyne, Jr.: George Clooney

Robert “Bobby” Shatford: Mark Wahlberg

Christina “Chris” Cotter: Diane Lane

Dale “Murphy” Murphy: John C. Reilly

David “Sully” Sullivan: William Fichtner

Capt. Linda Greenlaw: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Michael “Bugsy” Moran: John Hawkes

Alfred Pierre: Allen Payne

Bob Brown: Michael Ironside

Ethel Shadford: Janet Wright

Quentin: Sandy Ward

Melissa Brown: Karen Allen

Edie Bailey: Cherry Jones

Alexander McAlly II: Bob Gunton

Todd Gross: Christopher McDonald

Douglas “Dougie” Kosco: Joseph D. Reitman

Air National Guard flight crew: Todd Kimsey; Josh Hopkins; Dash Mihok; Chris Palermo; & Wiley M. Pickett

Irene: Rusty Schwimmer

Irene’s children: Katelyn C. Brown & Miles Schneider

Debra – Murph’s ex-wife: Merle Kennedy

Dale Murphy, Jr.: Hayden Tank

Alfred’s girlfriend: Jennifer Sommerfeld

U.S. Coast Guard Commander Brudnicki: Steve Barr.

REVIEW:

Without reading other reviews, I expected The Perfect Storm to be a relatively high-caliber effort – given this particular cast and Wolfgang Petersen’s directorial reputation. Unfortunately, as others soon discovered upon the film’s initial release, its ‘based on a true story’ plot pushed disappointing and predictable superficiality from the get-go.

Too little too late in the gripping Titanic-like climax/epilogue can’t overcome Petersen’s excessive cliché-fest, i.e. a maudlin first twenty-plus minutes depicted on shore. Knowing full well Petersen wasn’t making a documentary, his ensemble cast still delivers solid performances recreating a real-life tragedy. The underlying problem with Perfect Storm’s highly speculative nature is twofold.

First, by fictionalizing actual participants in this grim tragedy, viewers witness mostly Hollywood-ized caricatures all too formulaic for the big-budget disaster film genre. Among such dubious character traits is glorifying foolhardiness by George Clooney’s Tyne and his crew for not retreating early on – despite still having time to do so. From a hit filmmaker’s perspective, having Tyne’s vessel fatally sunk in mere seconds or a few minutes (no matter how logical it sounds) obviously isn’t good business. Such gritty realism would expedite this movie’s running time far too much, let alone diminish its need for fictional plot twists.

Of the few details known before the Andrea Gail’s dire fate, depicting Tyne and his crew as being desperately impetuous for money and professional glory isn’t necessarily in the best taste. It implies that the Andrea Gail’s crew had unwittingly engineered their own demise by daring a monstrous hurricane with little more than mortal bravado. Petersen, at least, compensates with Clooney’s well-played last moment, along with those of the ship’s crew. A glaring exception, however, is the implied death scene for Mark Wahlberg’s Bobby – it comes off too preposterously theatrical for its own good.

Secondly, it’s hard not to spot the practical realities of how The Perfect Storm was safely filmed. Clooney, Wahlberg, John C. Riley, and others were clearly working inside an enormous water tank later adding lots and lots of CGI ocean water. Apart from gushing water cannons blasting Clooney and Wahlberg during innumerable close-ups, Petersen’s cast, otherwise, can hide such phoniness only so much maintaining their dramatic composure.

By no means is the unconvincing Perfect Storm a blot on any cast member’s resumé, given the script they had. The blemish belongs instead to an uninspired Petersen. His take on a real-life at-sea disaster had the opportunity to surpass James Cameron’s eye-rolling Titanic, as far as supplying genuine character depth – not to mention, awestruck horror from the audience.

Though restraining from Cameron’s awful romantic dialogue, Perfect Storm doesn’t consistently muster the modesty it needs to be taken seriously. Case in point: try comparing Clooney and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio’s thoughtfully poignant scene vs. the unnecessary shark attack action-shlock seen later on. Big budget thrills via the fake shark, not to mention the dark monstrous waves in the climax, becomes too much of a distracting eyesore for viewers.

Note: Coincidence or not, late composer James Horner supplied the instrumental scores for both Titanic and The Perfect Storm.

Hence, the relatable blue-collar overtones of Petersen’s storyline become lost within too much Hollywood melodrama and CGI for the sake of popcorn. Falling short of its cinematic potential, The Perfect Storm should have remained a creative, if not exploitative, nonfiction novel.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 5½ Stars

JOHN CARPENTER’S THE THING (1982)

SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 1 Hr., 49 Min.

Released by Universal Studios for the 1982 summer season, John Carpenter directed the film off Bill Lancaster’s script. The original source material is John W. Campbell’s 1938 novella, “Who Goes There?,” from which Lancaster’s storyline updated certain plot elements. The project was filmed on refrigerated sets in Los Angeles, along with location shooting in both Alaska and Canada.

Set in the winter of 1981-1982, the twelve-man team at a remote U.S. research base in Antarctica witness a Norwegian helicopter’s sniper (Franco) bizarrely targeting a sole wolf-dog. An explosive accident and miscommunication subsequently result in the deaths of the sniper and his pilot.

While the wolf-dog (Jed) is allowed sanctuary inside their base, the team’s physician (Dysart) and its hard-bitten helicopter pilot, MacReady (Russell), depart for answers at the Norwegian camp approximately an hour away. Probing the decimated Norwegian base’s ruins, the duo finds grisly evidence later identified via autopsy as a scorched half-human/half-alien hybrid.

The base’s biologist, Blair (Brimley), theorizes that the Norwegians stumbled upon an alien shapeshifting lifeform capable of assimilating and then impersonating its prey. Realizing that the hostile alien may have now infiltrated their own base, the dozen men desperately seek to contain the lethal threat.

After studying videotape footage that the ill-fated Norwegians left behind, MacReady and biologist Norris (Hallahan) go out to confirm the existence of a frozen archaeological site. Norris calculates the spacecraft uncovered there dates back at least 100,000 years ago. More so, its parasitic inhabitant evidently thawed out from hibernation and destroyed the Norwegian base.

MacReady and his colleagues must resist panicking in facing the chameleon-like monster they are up against. Recognizing that any of them has been or will be compromised, the team resorts to involuntary blood draws (proving who’s still human) and often flamethrowers to stay alive. Accelerated by sub-freezing temperatures, a lack of sleep, and deliberate sabotage of any means of escape, paranoid madness descends upon the base. An exhausted, half-frozen MacReady (having taken command) insists on destroying the monster – in spite of a deadly collapse in trust among his colleagues.

With faint hopes of rescue likely months away, the team’s dwindling survivors ominously agree upon a common goal. The monster’s own escape must be thwarted – no matter the cost.

Cast:

R.J. MacReady (helicopter pilot): Kurt Russell

Dr. Blair (senior biologist): A. Wilford Brimley

Dr. Norris (biologist): Charles Hallahan

Childs (chief mechanic): Keith David

Nauls (base cook): T.K. Carter

Dr. Copper (physician): Richard Dysart

Windows (radio operator): Thomas G. Waites

Clark (dog team handler): Richard Masur

Garry (base commander): Donald Moffat

Fuchs (biologist): Joel Pulis

Bennings (meteorologist): Peter Maloney

Palmer (mechanic): David Clennon

Infected Malamute/Dog (interior scenes): Jed

Norwegian Sniper: Larry Franco (uncredited)

Computer Voice: Adrienne Barbeau (uncredited)

Norwegian: Norbert Weisser (uncredited)

Norwegian (video footage): John Carpenter (uncredited)

Other Norwegians (video footage): Uncredited Extras

Pilots: William Zeman & Nate Irwin.

Notes: 1. The same-named 2011 prequel explores the events involving the ill-fated Norwegian team leading up to the 1982 film’s opening dog hunting sequence. 2. The film’s 1951 cinematic predecessor, The Thing from Another World, relies upon the same Campbell source material, but Carpenter’s version more closely homages the original story. 3. After his 1938 novella, Campbell also evidently penned an obscure expanded (novel-length) version retitled Frozen Hell.

REVIEW:

One might presume that ultra-gory special effects (courtesy of Rob Bottin’s top-caliber team) is The Thing’s most significant element. That’s only partially accurate.

As icky and even at times as cheesy Bottin’s effects are, the tense blood draw sequence is just as, if not more so, wince-inducing. Along with Ennio Morricone’s eerie score (note: it echoes Carpenter’s 1981 Escape from New York), the film’s practical special effects still hold up. Even a few obvious matte paintings used as Antarctic backdrops are masterfully designed. Hence, credit is long overdue to Carpenter’s production team – keeping in mind what their $15 million dollar budget could/couldn’t afford at the time. Viewers, in that regard, get an excellent monster flick that doesn’t rely on blue-screen phoniness to work its magic.

Apart from its special effects, like 1979’s original Alien film, The Thing devises a reliable sci-fi/horror-meets-And Then There None whodunnit formula. Think about it – as of 1982, this intriguing sub-genre, in a modern context, consisted of only these two films. That is – before the Alien and Predator franchises began over-exploiting the concept for the next forty-plus years. Still, Carpenter’s nuanced ensemble delivers far more character depth than one would expect – unlike derivative blockbusters merely recycling the same premise ad nauseum with different casts.

Before proceeding further, it isn’t a fair assessment without pointing out some dumb plot contrivances. Case in point: the Antarctic ‘science team’ woefully disregards sanitary precautions: 1. They don’t wear masks (rubber gloves are seen once, maybe twice), especially when exposed to potentially noxious fumes (i.e. the autopsies; the Norwegian base). 2. No one expresses concern about quarantining the fugitive wolf-dog, let alone ever self-quarantining themselves – aside from Brimley’s Blair later in the film.

Aside from ignoring basic scientific caution, the biggest eye-roller is a partially built, homemade spacecraft – which should be left as the less said the better. Still, some freaky shlock horror imagery is supposed to be exactly that. One wonders if the makers of the subsequent Re-Animator franchise were inspired by Bottin’s grotesque genius.

As much heavy lifting as the macabre special effects must do, Russell and his castmates absolutely carry their share of the necessary workload. A youthful Russell leads veteran character actors (i.e. Donald Moffat, Richard Masur, Wilford Brimley, and Ricard Dysart – all in top form) and newer faces (i.e. Keith David, T.K. Carter, and David Clennon) in an everyman’s game of frostbitten claustrophobia shifting to catastrophic paranoia. Carpenter’s ingenious scene fadeouts ensure that enigmatic plot twists are teased without spoiling the grim suspense of what’s still to come. Accordingly, the twelve distrustful characters, especially Russell’s MacReady, convey varying realistic shades of humanity in the face of imminent doom.

John Carpenter’s The Thing is by no means flawless (on its own merits or even as a remake). It is, however, definitely worthy of re-discovery. This movie, suffice to say, outclasses the vast majority of competition in its genre.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 8 Stars