The Perfect Storm (2000) * * *

 

Directed by:  Wolfgang Petersen

Starring:  George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, John Hawkes, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Cherry Jones, Bob Gunton, William Fichtner, Allen Payne, Christopher McDonald, Diane Lane

The Perfect Storm is based on the true story of the fishing vessel Andrea Gail, captained by Billy Tyne (Clooney), which was lost at sea during the "Perfect Storm of 1991".  The perfect storm was a tropical storm clashing with two separate hurricanes in the Atlantic.  All three storms formed into one and late in the film we see through dazzling visual effects the damage it inflicted on Andrea Gail as well as others trapped in its grasp. 

We watch The Perfect Storm waiting for the storm to arrive.  Until then, we meet the Andrea Gail crew members at a local Gloucester, Massachusetts bar days before the boat is heading back out to sea.  There's Bobby (Walhberg), who promises his girlfriend Christina (Lane) this will be his last trip, Murph (Reilly) who is going through a sad separation with his wife, Bugsy (Hawkes), a lonely guy, along with newcomers Sully (Fichtner) and Alfred Pierre (Payne).  Sully's presence brings tension aboard since he is seeing Murph's wife, so there are obligatory fights and arguments between them. 

A Boston meteorologist (McDonald) discovers that these storms will indeed converge soon and watches the radar intently.  Tyne and his crew are aware of the dangers, but keep plugging away because they need to score a big catch of swordfish.  When they do, the freezer storing the fish breaks and Tyne decides to try to navigate through the pending storm in order to save the catch and avoid financial ruin.  As skilled a captain as Tyne is, working his way through his rough seas and tall, deadly waves is too much even for him.   

What The Perfect Storm lacks in the character department (these people are thinly drawn), it makes up for it with the spectacularly convincing storm.  We are unaware that these are visual effects.  The boat looks as if it'll be gobbled up by the monstrous ocean.  Tyne has to realize he's running a fool's errand by combating these waves, but he holds out hope, like we do, that he can win this battle.  The Perfect Storm was nominated for an Oscar for visual effects and somehow lost out to Gladiator, a poster child for early CGI and its flaws.  The lions in Gladiator were clearly phony, but the hurricanes in The Perfect Storm looked chillingly real.