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The Poseidon Adventure

The Poseidon Adventure

1972
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
1h 57m
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Avg Percentile 51.07% from 935 total ratings

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(935)
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Rated 24 May 2008
68
49th
Early scenes seem designed to make you hope the boat sinks, and quickly. Thankfully, once capsized Hackman cranks up his abusive Reverend to maximum intensity and hilarity ensues. Anyone who digresses from the Rev's path is hastily smote by God, so we chuckle. In between watching Rev's arguments with Rogo, the viewer has time to formulate a death list for the most annoying survivors, points for gruesome scenarios. So kick back and enjoy yourself, or the Reverend will punch you in the throat!
Rated 12 Jun 2009
2
15th
Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, girl who spends the entire movie in wet panties, Carol Lynley's nipples, and Shelley Winters swimming to freedom = good times all around.
Rated 11 Feb 2008
75
57th
Decent special effects.
Rated 17 Nov 2014
83
86th
This is a great action, thriller film. The special effects and stunt work still hold up. The cast is a great ensemble and the script is good. Gene Hackman is excellent in one of his best roles. I highly recommend this film.
Rated 07 Jul 2012
78
55th
Handsomely produced, well-made disaster film is probably a little too well-made to compare to the campy fun to be had with EARTHQUAKE and THE SWARM -- but the film is genuinely exciting at times, once the story kicks into gear, and the performances (and Neame's direction) are much better than usual for a disaster film, with Winters especially standing out -- though Hackman is a surprisingly flat and wooden heroic lead. Winters' legendary underwater sequence is worth the price of admission!
Rated 01 Jan 2017
73
83rd
good movie
Rated 23 Oct 2020
65
43rd
Not sure why I just wasn't feeling this movie and most of the characters I found annoying
Rated 12 Aug 2022
70
53rd
Leslie Neilsen entire serious dramatic career totally ruined the moment after we all saw Airplane! I just can't take him serious anymore, it sucks he isn't in this more because he can hold his breath for a long, long time.
Rated 11 Mar 2010
78
54th
Maybe it's the lowered expectations but this a pretty solid disaster film. Sure it's full of cliches and convenient timing, but it's exciting, fun to watch and avoids getting too egregious with its faults.
Rated 14 Dec 2014
71
54th
Actually a pretty fun little... survival film? Disaster film? Not sure what genre this fits into. Action? Lot of familiar faces, too. Kinda wish I've seen the recent remake so I can compare.
Rated 29 Sep 2011
70
54th
See my full review @ http://ducksoupme.blogspot.com/2011/09/glug-gurgle-gulp.html
Rated 24 Sep 2010
66
51st
Flawed take on the disaster films of the 70's but Hackman and Winters are great.
Rated 15 Aug 2012
58
31st
Rip-roaring adventure/disaster yarn. The action and suspense are very well done, as is the cinematography, sound, editing and acting. The cheesy cliches are just about bearable, only because I know the reverend's about to go on a rant again.
Rated 03 Oct 2009
53
42nd
Entertaining.
Rated 19 Aug 2007
50
10th
Actually a decent movie, that is much better on the big screen than on the TV. Mostly has-been actors.
Rated 20 Jul 2009
65
32nd
Human drama and suspense permeate the upturned hull of an aging ocean liner after a tidal wave crapsizes, er, capsizes her. Now it's up to Gene Hackman's painted-on turtleneck to save a lessening handful of passengers still willing to listen to his hypocrytical and overly-winded diatribes on humanity, the existence of God and why it's a really good idea if the young women strip down to their underwear when travelling through a sinking ship. Craptastic.
Rated 03 Jun 2008
64
44th
Better than average disaster flicks and you can forgive some of the cliche's due to it being over 30 years old (such as the completely useless person that only hinders the group and is really, really annoying or the blaming of a person that is completely not responsible for something). Still I was entertained and that's a positive but I have no desire to see it again.
Rated 30 Sep 2011
72
50th
A great , fun movie to watch! The character development is what makes this one work. The effects ( for the time) are great, but lack some effect 40 years later. But that doesn't matter, because the characters keep you watching, Tho a bit predictable, its still a very entertaining movie! Pacing is excellent, and the acting is even above average (from time to time). Watch for a cameo of a young Leslie Nielsen as the captain in the beginning!
Rated 16 Jun 2008
2
0th
Epic movie for its time, but it wouldn't be made the same way today. Pretty much horrible-phoned-in acting by some of the big-name stars. A few memorable scenes that have been subtly mirrored in more recent movies.
Rated 30 Jul 2012
4
91st
Archetypal disaster film that moves along nicely and has some memorable scenes, a couple of clichés less and it would be a classic.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
70
79th
Part of the 70's disaster movie glut, great sets.
Rated 01 Dec 2010
30
78th
"What the glittering, star-driving survivalism of Poseidon Adventure actually presents is a nightmarishly schematic fantasia of guiltless discomfort." - Eric Henderson
Rated 13 Jan 2008
78
49th
This will either remind you of Titanic or Waterworld depending on whether you like it or not. Certainly lots of water and a simple but well executed plot. Watch out for Shelley Winters!
Rated 26 Feb 2007
30
18th
A completely ludicrous film with a really gimmicky premise and really stupid characters. It also hasn't aged well at all.
Rated 25 Sep 2012
95
84th
My favorite of the 1970s disaster movies. It had a very real feel to it, emotional and plenty of action.
Rated 19 Nov 2008
73
89th
The best disaster film I've ever seen. The special effects were so good. They didn't look dated to me at all. Anyways, the remake had some annoying characters and it was more of a hard thriller (almost a horror at some parts), while this one had nice characters that we cared for and it was more dramatic.
Rated 02 Mar 2007
60
62nd
Pretty good adventure film.
Rated 10 Jan 2011
40
7th
"As did Gene Hackman, the preacher, who gave his life so others could live. He died shouting, "how many more lives-lives-lives-lives!!!!??'" - Killdozer, 1988
Rated 21 Jan 2009
70
61st
A film that puts the ASS into crASS, but none the worse for it. An absolute camp classic! Forget the 1978 sequel (haven't seen the 2005 remake)
Rated 13 Aug 2015
78
75th
Shallow but tight, coherent & just plain fun. Manages to present itself with a fresh & inspired joy of filmmaking. Good music and decent performances make you care enough about the exciting stunts and situations. Very good writing with broad allegorical sweeps & engaging characters. The setting is nicely realized as well. Excellent balancing act between big & small, spectacular survival-action & interesting story. This is pretty much the formula for a basic but highly entertaining disaster romp.
Rated 25 Mar 2007
50
33rd
Paul Gallico's book should have made a better movie than this
Rated 01 Dec 2008
29
30th
Fandme om de ikke render rundt i høje sko og med tonsvis af klicheer på ryggen og forsøger at redde deres liv. En skematisk opbygget katastrofilm - dog værd at bruge en eftermiddag på som lærestykke..
Rated 23 Aug 2016
69
25th
A handful of passengers try to make their way out of an inverted ocean liner. Irwin Allen's reputation as the king of disaster was made with this film, but all things considered, The Towering Inferno not only outdoes it as an all-star soap opera but as a disaster thriller. It has its moments, to be sure, thanks to the impressive production design, Oscar-winning effects, and John Williams' score, but it falls just a hair short of being really juicy entertainment. Who can say why.
Rated 18 Oct 2015
6
43rd
Five trivial character set-ups converge at a fancy New Years cruise ship party as scenes with the captain and crew increase in frequency as the foretold disaster (see the opening story summary) draws near: It's a straight-forward and effective opening act that leads naturally to the "rag-tag group of survivors" disaster adventure plot. The pace is slow (realistic, but tiresome at points) but it's offset in part by the well-defined characters (marred only by Hackman's eye-rolling macho overload).
Rated 12 Dec 2009
67
61st
Mindless but engrossing, highly charged entertainment -- the vanguard of the decade's "disaster film" genre. Introductory sequences are laughably bad, but one soon gets caught up in the story and ignores script's weaknesses.
Rated 27 Dec 2009
86
90th
A surprisingly compelling adventure flick.
Rated 29 Jul 2010
83
41st
Childhood memories when I think of this one. Likeable disastermovie. (Only watched it when I was a kid)
Rated 20 May 2012
61
38th
The underwater swimming champion of New York three years running?
Rated 24 Oct 2007
80
58th
They don't make disaster films like they did in the seventies. Dated, sure, but that's half the fun of it.
Rated 06 Apr 2018
78
58th
Not too many complaints about this by-the-books and effectively made disaster film, which positions its characters within one grueling and challenging scenario after the other. It has its downsides, like some very lame and unnecessary deaths (a woman dies of fatness!?) and the spectacle still seems to suggest a lack of budget here (as proven by the disappointing final shot). It's still a lot of fun and works well at portraying how this rag-tag team can work together.
Rated 08 Apr 2018
80
78th
Classic disaster film. Sure, the actors are all hamming it up -- you know who isn't going to make it -- but it's the high-stakes, small-space action that still mostly works some 40 years after being made.
Rated 03 Jul 2018
93
79th
The Poseidon Adventure is sort of the consummate disaster film. In that it was made during a time where the limitations of special effects made it difficult to create enough spectacle. This movie and its amazing cast came together to form a genuinely thrilling and even heart-wrenching Adventure at sea.
Rated 02 Jan 2020
70
80th
I guess years of bad Disaster films made audiences desensitized to the few ones who are actually good.
Rated 17 Aug 2020
65
45th
I'm a little disappointed that there was so little effort made by the rescuers. C'mon guys.
Rated 22 Aug 2021
49
46th
Qualities of the film aside, I love that you could have two leads who looked like Hackman and Borgnine back in 1972.
Rated 31 Aug 2021
80
63rd
The Poseidon Adventure is equal parts exciting action movie and camp mess. I really enjoyed this movie. I'm sad that I hadn't seen it until now. The story is interesting and it moves along at a good pace. The acting is very good (Borgnine, Winters, Hackman, etc.) but it can also be pretty bad (the little boy). I like that they don't pull any punches in this movie either - characters that are likeable die and it makes their sacrifice special.
Rated 02 May 2022
69
48th
It's not as good as The Towering Inferno but it's a first rate disaster/survivor film.
Rated 08 Jan 2023
60
27th
Crude & stupid, yet engrossing. Funny to see Leslie Nielsen in that role.

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