In 2010, the offshore drilling platform Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico resulting in the worst oil spill the US had ever seen. This movie follows the team of workers onboard the rig as they struggle to deal with the aftermath of this disaster.
Mark Wahlberg plays Mike Williams. We see him at home with his wife and daughter as he prepares to leave for a 20 day shift onboard the rig. We briefly follow a couple of other characters before they all board the helicopter bound for Deepwater Horizon.
First things first, the attention to detail in this movie while on the rig and the amount of realism that this achieves is absolutely incredible. So much so that much of the fast paced technical dialogue and banter that goes on between the crew on the rig went completely over my head and I struggled to comprehend a lot of what was being said. Or maybe I just want paying enough attention….. What was clear though is that there was an important test which should have been done but hadn’t because the BP corporate guys were more concerned with the drill running over budget and 43 days late. We’re able to see, down below on the seabed, that there is a problem brewing. A big problem, something which the test would have picked up. Another, cheaper test is carried out but remains inconclusive and corporate BP guy John Malkovich manages to convince everyone that everything will be fine. Corporate greed is the big theme throughout this movie.
Only everything is definitely not all fine. When things go badly wrong, it’s intense but manageable for the experienced team of workers. But it gets worse, much much worse. And once again the attention to detail and realism is amazing. We see every nut and bolt popping, every bit of metal buckling, every piece of equipment failing and exploding. It’s a truly intense disaster. And it’s amazing that after all of that only 11 people died.
The film finishes by showing us the real life versions of our actors, along with clips from the enquiry into the disaster. It really hits home just how brave these guys were and how deserving that their story be portrayed so well in this movie.
Web developer by day, with a movie and TV watchlist that continues to grow as much as my spare time reduces! My favourite movie is Inception and, despite what everyone says, I do not have a man-crush on Tom Cruise.
