When Poseidon came out in 2006, I interviewed the entire cast and director Wolfgang Petersen at the junket. There were high hopes for it. It was a then-modern retelling of The Poseidon Adventure with all the advantages visual effects could add.
Perhaps it came too late after the ‘90s disaster movie renaissance and before nostalgia kicked back in. I remember being impressed that it was a lean 90 minute ride that forewent most of the character development part and parcel to the genre. That might have been a problem for its second week, but Poseidon didn’t even get people in the first weekend.
Now looking back, it overuses the CGI but they built more sets than many 2006 movies, and certainly movies today. On 4K you can totally tell the sets from the CGI so if you focus on the practical work, Poseidon looks great.
Those moonlight shots of the Poseidon exterior are the best of the visual effects. It never goes totally pitch black like 4K can, but that holds up much better than the CGI fire.
Atmos sound is not quite as bombastic as the visuals. There are hints of the wave approaching in the rear. Most of the rear effects are intentional stings during the disaster, not a constant rumble. Sparks and crashes hit occasionally, and the rescue helicopters whirr in the end.
Four new interviews with the cinematographer, production designer, VFX supervisor and makeup effects artist highlight how all the elements work together. Michael Deek reveals they reused dead bodies from other movies and some were from celebrity casts. I won’t spoil who.
Heath Holland gives good context for the film’s disaster roots and emphasizes Petersen’s decision to edit Poseidon down to its leanest form. There are still no deleted scenes though. Reports of 20 minutes cut would be interesting to see someday, but perhaps it will take more to unearth them.