Deepwater Horizon

When i grew up, i had a neighbor who worked on an oil rig in Norway. I remember some of the stories he told me, how tough it was, the long work shifts. But he also told me that the team work was very important. I remember how well paid these men and women were, but it also came with a prize. Health issues, with the problems of enough sleep, and other issues. Was it all worth it ? I think he stayed because he wanted to support his family, and he would not get that high pay check in another job in Sweden. Oil rigs are of course needed, and the men and women who struggle out there in the ocean, deserves respect. I don´t think i could handle that kind of job, i am simply not the right man for the job. But that´s ok, helping people in health care is where i belong. I have watched several reality shows, where you get to see how oil rig workers do their job everyday. It seems very dangerous, and you have to be aware of what is happening around you, just in case something goes wrong. One example of what could happen, is if we take a look back into the year of 2001. Brazilian oil rig Petrobras 36 exploded, killing 11 people on board the oil rig. Of course company BR did not want to take the blame for this, so they continued making more money instead, spending it on champagne and prostitutes. Really ? Yes, i doubt anyone would be surprised, since it is Brazil we are talking about. Petrobras 36 caused a lot of problems in the ocean, and of course the cost of this disaster became very high. Could this have been stopped ? I don´t know, but i get the feeling that BR could have had much better safety precautions. We have another example, of an oil rig disaster. Maybe you have read about the Deepwater Horizon disaster ? The oil rig exploded out in the Gulf of Mexico, and left an enormous oil spill. I remember reading about this in newspapers, after this happened, and hearing some interviews on CNN. Once you saw pictures taken from the oil rig, you understood how serious this disaster was. I will never forget some of the images that were shown on tv, dreadfully to see. Some of you might have heard of the name Peter Berg, who is both an actor, but also works as a director. Some of you might have seen his films Battleship or Lone Survivor. He have made a film based on the disaster that happened at Deewater Horizon, and the critics have been positive so far. Since Peter Berg succeeded with Lone Survivor, does he deliver this time again, or did he dig himself too deep with this project ?

April 20, 2010, oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon is about to start drilling of the southern coast of Louisiana on behalf of BP. Engineer Michael " Mike " Williams ( Mark Wahlberg ) and rig supervisor James " Jimmy " Harrell ( Kurt Russel )are surprised that the workers assigned to pour the concrete foundation, are being sent home early, without doing a pressure test. This was approved by BP company man Donald Vidrine ( John Malkovich ). Both Mike and Jimmy knows, that a pressure test is very important to do, just in case something could go wrong. Jimmy go over to talk to Donald, that they really should do a pressure test. Donald agree to do this, but order them to do the pressure test, while Jimmy is not ready. At first everything seems to be going ok, but suddenly a massive blowout, coming from underneath the sea, explode and kill workers on board. And this is just the beginning, more explosions are on the way, and Mike have to find a way to help the team to survive, if they can stay alive for much longer.

To see director Peter Berg, work again with Mark Wahlberg, is a delightful experience. And this time, i have to say that they really worked hard, to deliver something special. Knowing that Deepwater Horizon is based on an actual disaster, makes this film even more interesting. All the people that was on the oil rig Deepwater Horizon, deserve much more respect, than they got. It becomes pretty obvious that BP did not want to take the blame for this disaster, as if they wanted to leave it all behind. Of course they had to fix everything, because this was their fault, but did they really do that ? I think it is very important that director Peter Berg choose to tell the truth, instead of making everything look like it was just an accident. The CGI in this film looks really good, and the disaster scenes are also very well made. But that´s not all. The acting from the cast is also really good, not only from Mark Wahlberg, but especially from Kurt Russell and John Malkovich. Kate Hudson is actually alright, considering the disaster of Mother´s Day. Even if we know what happened from news papers, we did not really know the actual truth. We may not find out everything in Deepwater Horizon, but i find a lot more details here than i knew before. The characters feel realistic, and the environment around the oil rig also feel realistic. Details like this is very important, if you want to tell a true story, and director Peter Berg knows what he is doing. I can tell that he did not want to make another cheesy disaster film, instead he focuses on real information, and try and stay within the truth. Knowing that people lost their lives because of this disaster, makes you wonder if anything could have been done differently ? Remember the classic of The Towering Inferno with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen, the classic disaster film from 1974? One of the greatest disaster films classics of all time. Deepwater Horizon may not have anything similar to do with this film, when it comes to the actual disaster. But you can feel that director Peer Berg wanted to make his film feel majestic, like a classic disaster film. And he does this really well. This is actually one of the best disaster films i have seen in many years. Deepwater Horizon is the perfect blu ray experience, if you want massive explosions scenes, and a really well made action drama. This is the best film from director Peter Berg so far, no doubt about that. One thing is clear, after this experience, i am never going on board an oil rig. 

Rating: DDDD