Member review

After having seen the trailers, I was going to avoid this film at all costs. To me, it seemed like it would a film that would offend those who watched it, let alone those who were actually part of the 2010 BP oil spill, rather than to reveal the truth and raise awareness. The trailer showed Mike Williams, played by Mark Wahlberg, spending time with his family; I predicted that the film would use his family as a way of making you care about the character rather than making a likeable character. So it's fair to say that my expectations weren't particularly high, especially after seeing that the director, Peter Berg, was the same director of the 2012 disaster known as "Battleship". However, I am thoroughly impressed. I never have been into films based on true stories but this film might have changed my opinion....or at least my opinion of Berg.

For one, I was completely wrong about the characters, they were incredibly realistic and relatable and as a result you genuinely cared about them, and their families you don't even meet. Like I mentioned, you do see Mike Williams with his family but his family have their own individual personalities, they're clearly not cardboard cutouts used a plot device. The crew all interact with one another; they joke around and play games so once again, you care about them rather than being forced to care just because you know they're friends.

In terms of technical skill, this film was brilliant. Some of the sound transitions between scenes were seamless and the visual effects were stunning. I feel rather guilty about marvelling at the fire and explosion effects but it's all done so well that you feel like you're there with the crew. The editing was also excellent; the fade to black editing matched with the flickering of lights was what made you feel just as disorientated as the crew, and once again you care more because you experience everything they do. You are put right at the heart of the action and you want to survive this as much as the crew do.

Perhaps that's what is great about this film, it's not something cheesy to force you to care about these characters, they are realistic and do feel 3 dimensional. This film could have easily been an insult to the victims of the BP disaster but it was easy to engage with the characters and the film. I don't want to be insensitive and say I enjoyed it but I will say that both in terms of the narrative and the technical skill, this film is worth watching. 7/10