Poseidon (2006) Limited Edition 4K Review

4 star restoration of a fun and fast paced disaster flick.

Poseidon is a 2006 American action disaster film and the third adaptation of the 1969 novel The Poseidon Adventure by Paul Gallico (The Snow Goose).

It is directed by Wolfgang Petersen (Enemy Mine, The NeverEnding Story) and is available to own for the first time in the UK on 4K UHD, courtesy of Arrow Video.

“Dad, do you have any idea how big this ship is? Don’t you think if we really wanted to we could find somewhere away from you to do that *thing* you’re so afraid of us doing?”

It’s New Year’s Eve and aboard the luxury cruise liner Poseidon, the passengers and crew are preparing to see in the New Year in style. We meet former New York mayor and firefighter Robert (Kurt Russell – Used Cars, Big Trouble in Little China), travelling with his daughter Jennifer (Emmy Rossum – Cold Pursuit, Beautiful Creatures) and her boyfriend Christian (Mike Vogel – The Help, Cloverfield), as well as single mother Maggie (Jacinda Barrett – The Last Kiss, Ladder 49) and her son Connor (Jimmy Bennett – Heartthrob, Camouflage). She has caught the eye of professional gambler Dylan (Josh Lucas – Little Accidents, The Lincoln Lawyer), looking for a New Years date.

As the celebrations hit full swing in the Grand Ballroom to the dulcet tones of the lovely Gloria (Fergie – Nine, Planet Terror), just after midnight a rogue wave hits and the ship capsizes. With the liner now upside down, Captain Bradford (Andre Braugher – She Said, The Gambler) takes charge and tells the passengers to stay put, they will be safe until help arrives. Robert disagrees, as does architect Richard (Richard Dreyfuss – Into the Deep, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) and they embark on a desperate attempt to reach the bottom of the ship before it sinks completely.

“I wouldn’t put a lot of faith on what the captain says. I’m an architect, and these boats weren’t designed to float upside down.”

Poseidon is a very entertaining watch, packed with excellent special features and with a more plausible reason for the disaster than the original film. There is also far less screaming, never a bad thing.

Where this really excels is in the special effects, which are really good and have you alongside the passengers as they try to escape. Where it falls down a little is the script and character development, although there’s probably enough for the purposes of the story.

It looks great in 4K and with plenty of special features, this release is well worth adding to your collection.

“You know, there’s nothing fair about who lives and dies. You gave Elena a chance. You gave everybody a chance.”

Poseidon is available to own now on Limited Edition 4K UHD.

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Ocean View, a brand new interview with director of photography John Seale
• Big Sets for Big-Time Directors, a brand new interview with production designer William Sandell
• Surfing the VFX Wave, a brand new interview with visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis
• Bringing Out the Dead, a brand new interview with make-up effects on-set supervisor Michael Deak
• Set a Course for Adventure, a brand new retrospective on the film by Heath Holland
• Poseidon: A Ship on a Soundstage, a featurette looking at the film’s production featuring interviews with cast and crew
• Poseidon: Upside Down, a featurette exploring the film’s challenging set design
• A Shipmate’s Diary, a featurette following production assistant Malona Voigt on the set of Poseidon
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jacey
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Priscilla Page