--- title: "Poseidon" year: 2006 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/poseidon" fi1m_id: "poseidon" imdb_id: "tt0409182" tmdb_id: 503 wikidata_id: "Q906633" fi1m_score: 55 critics_score: 46 critics_reviews: 9 published: "2026-10-05T00:48:26.262402+00:00" updated: "2026-10-05T00:48:26.471752+00:00" region: "HU" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Poseidon (2006) Directed by Wolfgang Petersen · 1h 38m · NMHH 16 · Adventure, Action, Drama, Thriller ## Identity Poseidon - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/poseidon - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** poseidon - **IMDb ID:** tt0409182 - **TMDB ID:** 503 - **Wikidata ID:** Q906633 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409182/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/503, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q906633 **Fi1m score: 55** · Critics 46 from 9 reviews *In a sentence:* A ship goes upside down in ten minutes; the people in it stay flat for ninety > Wolfgang Petersen turns the ship over inside ten minutes and spends the rest of a brisk 98 running strangers through flooded corridors. The water is convincing, the ventilation shaft is properly frightening, and nobody on board is worth knowing. ## Synopsis New Year’s Eve aboard the liner Poseidon. In the ballroom Captain Bradford (Andre Braugher) leads the countdown while Gloria (Fergie) sings. Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas), a professional gambler, is at the tables. Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell), once mayor of New York, is watching his daughter Jennifer (Emmy Rossum) and her boyfriend Christian (Mike Vogel). Maggie James (Jacinda Barrett) has her young son Conor (Jimmy Bennett) with her. Richard Nelson (Richard Dreyfuss), an architect whose partner has just left him, stands alone at the stern rail. Then a rogue wave rolls the ship over. The captain tells the survivors to stay in the ballroom and wait for rescue. Dylan does not believe him and sets off upwards towards the hull, and a handful follow. ## Review Wolfgang Petersen has made one film about men in a submarine and another about men on a fishing boat in a storm, so an upside-down ocean liner is at least a promotion in tonnage. *Poseidon* remakes *The Poseidon Adventure* from 1972, both taken from Paul Gallico’s novel, and Mark Protosevich’s screenplay strips the story to its hull. The ship is over inside ten minutes. The whole film is done in 98. It is good at corridors and bad at people. The capsize is the best thing in it. It is New Year’s Eve, the ballroom is counting down, Gloria (Fergie) is singing, and Captain Bradford (Andre Braugher) has just raised a glass when the bridge sees the wave. John Seale keeps the camera inside the ballroom as the floor tilts, so the tables slide before anyone understands why, and then the chandeliers come down to meet the guests. Peter Honess cuts it without the usual flurry: we see the roll, we see where people land, and the pause afterwards, with the lights swinging, is the only quiet the film allows itself. We were gripped. We were also, within a minute or two, aware that several hundred people had just died in that room and the film had already stopped thinking about them. It picks out a dozen instead. Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas) is a gambler who prefers his own company and then leads everybody. Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell) used to be mayor of New York. Maggie James (Jacinda Barrett) has a small son, Conor (Jimmy Bennett). Richard Nelson (Richard Dreyfuss) is an architect who has been left by the man he loves. Protosevich gives each of them one fact and nothing to do with it, and the actors spend the film shouting each other’s names in the dark. Kevin Dillon’s Lucky Larry, drunk, loud and selfish, is the one person on board we would have liked more of. Mía Maestro’s Elena, a stowaway, and Freddy Rodriguez’s Valentin, a waiter, are written as people the leads are kind enough to bring along. What Petersen does know how to do is stage the inside of a ship that is the wrong way up. William Sandell’s sets put the carpets overhead and turn the lift shafts into tunnels. The ventilation shaft is the sequence to remember: a line of adults and a boy crawling through a duct barely wider than their shoulders while the water rises behind them, Seale’s light cut down to a torch beam and whatever comes through the grilles. We held our breath with them, and noticed afterwards that our shoulders had come up around our ears. Klaus Badelt’s score hammers through all of it. Erica Edell Phillips dresses everyone for a party and then lets the evening wear come apart, gowns torn to the knee and dinner jackets black with oil. The shaft is the one set piece with a shape of its own. The rest are variations: a flooded corridor, a climb, a door that will not open, another flooded corridor. The water inside the sets is real and heavy and frightening. The water outside, the wave itself and the hull seen from below, is computer work with the weightless shine of effects from this period, so the shot the whole film is named for looks like the least dangerous thing in it. By the last half hour we were no longer frightened, only waiting to see who would be left, and we were a little ashamed that the film had taught us to count that way. The 1972 film gave its survivors a preacher with a grudge against God and let them argue about who deserved saving. Petersen and Protosevich have cut all of that for pace, and they get pace. Petersen’s own [*Das Boot*](https://film.one/film/das-boot) knew that the waiting is where you find out who people are. Nobody here waits, so nobody here is anybody. Most critics came away about where we have, impressed by the water and bored by the people, and we see no reason to argue. It is a fair evening if a liner turning over is what you came for: short, loud, with one properly frightening passage and a 12A certificate that keeps the drownings just out of frame. Watch it with the sound up and the lights off, and do not expect to remember anyone’s name by morning. *Fi1m score 55, published 5 October 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics find Poseidon a thin, fast-moving disaster film that leans too hard on its effects. Praise, where it comes, clusters on the survival action: the cramped ventilation-shaft sequence and the relentless, tense set pieces are singled out even by reviewers who dislike the whole. The two positive reviews call it brisk and entertaining, with striking ship imagery and likeable enough company to follow through the wreck. The reservations are shared widely: the characters are thin, the exposition clumsy, and the computer-generated imagery conspicuous enough to blunt the sequences it is meant to sell. Several reviews measure the remake against the original and find the trade of big sets for pixels a poor one. The spread is wide, from warm endorsement to outright contempt. Slant Magazine is the sharpest dissenter, objecting to how the film disposes of its minority characters, while Den of Geek finds Kevin Dillon the only source of humour in an otherwise joyless film. ## Straight answers **Is Poseidon worth watching?** *Poseidon* is worth watching only if a liner turning over is what you came for, and we scored it 55. The capsize and the ventilation shaft are properly frightening, and at 98 minutes it does not outstay its welcome. Nobody on board is worth knowing, and by the last half hour we were only counting who was left. **How long is Poseidon, and what is it rated?** *Poseidon* runs 1h 38m and is rated 16 by the NMHH in Hungary. It is an adventure and action film. **Where can I watch Poseidon in Hungary?** *Poseidon* is streaming on Netflix in Hungary, and it is also available to rent from Apple TV from Ft 799. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Poseidon, and is it suitable for children?** *Poseidon* is a 12A, and the certificate keeps the drownings just out of frame. The capsize kills several hundred people in a ballroom, and the ventilation shaft, with adults and a boy crawling through a flooded duct, left us holding our breath. It should suit teenagers; younger or nervous children may find the rising water and the dark corridors too much. **Is Poseidon based on a true story or a book?** *Poseidon* is based on Paul Gallico’s novel, which also gave us *The Poseidon Adventure* in 1972, and it is not a true story. Mark Protosevich’s screenplay strips the book to its hull, keeping the capsize and the climb and dropping the earlier film’s arguments about who deserves saving. You need know nothing of the source to follow it. **What should I watch after Poseidon?** After *Poseidon*, try [*Das Boot*](https://film.one/film/das-boot) (1981, Fi1m 89): Petersen’s submarine film, where the waiting is the terror and every face is a person. Then [*A Night to Remember*](https://film.one/film/a-night-to-remember) (1958, Fi1m 85): The Titanic told straight, in British understatement, with the dread coming from the clock. ### Reviews we read (9) - **Empire**, Simon Braund (75/100, inferred): The critic finds it a worthy, highly entertaining addition to the disaster-movie canon, despite clumsy exposition and familiar archetypes. They single out the spectacular effects and the cramped-ventilation-shaft sequence for their intense, nerve-shredding impact. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/poseidon-review/) - **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias (C+): Tobias finds the film graceless and its character writing thin, though the survival action is preferable to the dramatic pauses. He singles out the action sequences as rote, lacking variety or ingenuity. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/poseidon-1798201717) - **Time Out**, Nick Funnell (55/100, inferred): The review questions the inevitability of remaking the original. It singles out the original’s crowd-pleasing analogue spectacle as what made it ripe for a Hollywood remake. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/poseidon) - **Radio Times**, Andrew Collins (2/5): Collins frames the remake as a much costlier refit of the original disaster film. He points to its reliance on CGI and middling stars as a contrast with the original’s big sets and stars. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-vosenk/poseidon/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Carina Chocano (30/100, inferred): Chocano finds the film’s suspenseful action entertaining but judges it a hollow, underdeveloped disaster movie. She praises the tense, relentless action while faulting the thin characterization and disregard for the mass of anonymous victims. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-12-et-poseidon12-story.html) - **Variety**, Brian Lowry (30/100, inferred): Lowry finds the fast-moving disaster film thin on character and overly reliant on effects, leaving it an underwhelming voyage. He praises the harrowing survival sequences but says conspicuously computer-generated imagery blunts their impact. [Read](https://variety.com/2006/film/reviews/poseidon-1200516471/) - **Slant Magazine**, Ed Gonzalez (0.5/4): Gonzalez condemns the film as an insulting, thoughtless blockbuster that advances a racist survival fantasy. He singles out its treatment of minority characters, especially Elena’s abrupt disposability, as the most troubling element. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/poseidon/) - **Eye for Film**, John Gallagher (78/100, inferred): Gallagher finds the remake thoroughly enjoyable and an effective, updated disaster film. He praises its brisk pacing, striking ship imagery, and likable characters. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/poseidon-film-review-by-john-gallagher) - **Den of Geek**, Luke Savage (1 out of 5): Savage finds the film a joyless, mechanically plotted blockbuster that fails to make its disaster spectacle engaging. He praises Kevin Dillon’s Lucky Larry as the film’s only source of humor. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/poseidon-blu-ray-review/) ## Details - **Director:** Wolfgang Petersen - **Director:** Wolfgang Petersen - **Screenplay:** Mark Protosevich - **Novel:** Paul Gallico - **Cinematography:** John Seale - **Editor:** Peter Honess - **Music:** Klaus Badelt - **Production design:** William Sandell - **Costume design:** Erica Edell Phillips - **Producer:** Mike Fleiss, Akiva Goldsman, Duncan Henderson - **Cast:** Josh Lucas as Dylan Johns; Kurt Russell as Robert Ramsey; Jacinda Barrett as Maggie James; Richard Dreyfuss as Richard Nelson; Emmy Rossum as Jennifer Ramsey; Mía Maestro as Elena; Mike Vogel as Christian; Kevin Dillon as Lucky Larry - **Runtime:** 1h 38m - **Certificate (NMHH):** 16 - **Release (Hungary):** 22 June 2006 - **Genres:** Adventure, Action, Drama, Thriller - **Budget:** $160 million - **Box office:** $182 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMBnf57f3AU ## Where to watch in Hungary - Netflix: streaming - Apple TV: rent Ft 799, hd - Apple TV: buy Ft 3,490, hd *Checked 2026-10-05.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 2007: Best Visual Effects (nominated) ## If you liked this - *The Poseidon Adventure* (1972): The original, with Gene Hackman’s preacher and the arguments the remake could not be bothered with. - *Das Boot* (1981), Fi1m 89: Petersen’s submarine film, where the waiting is the terror and every face is a person. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/das-boot.md) - *A Night to Remember* (1958), Fi1m 85: The Titanic told straight, in British understatement, with the dread coming from the clock. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-night-to-remember.md) - *The Wave* (2015): A Norwegian fjord, a rockslide and ten minutes to get uphill; small, exact and frightening. - *Juggernaut* (1974): Richard Lester puts bombs on a liner and lets Richard Harris be funny about dismantling them. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/poseidon