THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE

CAPSULE REVIEW –– Before , there was another "ship in trouble" film produced by the legendary disaster flick impresario Irwin Allen. It doesn't have a historical background, state-of-the-art special effects or a bittersweet love story, but it does have death and mayhem beneath the sea and that's all you need for a gripping tale of survival. It starts out like an episode of "The Love Boat", introducing the idiosyncracies of the different members of the little group that's actually smart enough to survive the initial ship trauma. From there it's a race against time to get to the hull of the ship before they drown or the ship sinks. Hackman and Borgnine battle for leadership as they drag everyone through fire, dead bodies and endless amounts of water. They, of course, lose some members along the way, the most memorable being Shelley Winters as the overweight grandmother who can't swim. The effects may have been great at the time, but pale by comparison to today's efforts and border on cheesy in some instances. The acting is also hit and miss, but there's just something about the constantly rushing water that makes this film a nail-biter. Hackman is the main standout as the preacher trying to keep his new flock alive. is a better example of the genre, but this film will still get your heart pumping, even while you're trying not to laugh at the wackiness of the situation. Yet another reason to avoid cruise ships.