Parents' Guide to Poseidon

Movie PG-13 2006 99 minutes
Poseidon Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

By Cynthia Fuchs , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Graphic disaster flick. Not for younger kids.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Poseidon Trailer

Parent and Kid Reviews

See all
age 13+

Based on 2 parent reviews

 

 

See all 2 parent reviews
age 12+

Based on 20 kid reviews

Kids say the movie features intense violence and a high body count, depicting numerous fatalities that might be too frightening for younger viewers. They remarked on the film’s dramatic elements, noting that while some enjoyed its entertainment value, others found the graphic scenes and sad story disheartening, making it more suitable for older kids and adults.

  • intense violence
  • mature themes
  • suitable for older kids
  • graphic scenes
  • sad storyline
  • not for young kids
Summarized with AI
 

 

See all 20 kid reviews

What's the Story?

In this remake, a New Year's celebration aboard a luxury liner turns disastrous when a 150-foot rogue wave slams the ship and flips it upside down. Rejecting the captain's (Andre Braugher) advice to wait, passengers try to find a way to the top of the ship, led by ex-firefighter Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell). He's occasionally preoccupied by his daughter Jennifer (Emmy Rossum), who is in turn preoccupied by her fiancé Christian (Mike Vogel). Before the wave hits, gambler playboy Dylan (Josh Lucas) is hitting on single mother Maggie (Jacinda Barrett). After, he's saving her young son Conor (Jimmy Bennett). As the group makes its way to the surface, the individual characters take a back seat to the pyrotechnics, the water, and the weird upside-down spaces the group must negotiate. While a recently brokenhearted gay architect Nelson (Richard Dreyfuss) takes an interest in the underclass pair -- busboy Marco (Freddy Rodríguez) and his just-met stowaway friend Elena (Mía Maestro) -- the others pretty much stick with their (white and moneyed) kind.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 2 ):
Kids say ( 20 ):

Why cast Andre Braugher if you don't use him? In his role as captain, he's relegated to making a couple of feeble speeches and then leaves everyone on board to their dire fates. When he advises passengers to wait to be rescued, you know he's wrong, and also that he's not long for the film. That's too bad, because the survivors are a dull lot. It's mentioned that Kurt Russell's character used to be "mayor of New York," which is never explained, but plainly draws on post-9/11 desires for heroes). None of the characters or their relationships are presented for more than a minute to two, and so none solicits much emotional investment.

That's not to say the folks in gowns and tuxedos don't learn some lessons in loss and courage. But they do so incidentally. The point in a disaster film is fear and relief and some more fear: It's a ride. Here, you watch characters work to get out of small spaces, endure water and fire, and make their way to more small spaces.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the formula of disaster films: How are relationships between characters forged through dire hardships? How does the movie use conventional gender roles: the women are fearful, loving, or maternal, and the boys are sneaky, assertive, or courageous?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

Poseidon Poster Image

What to Watch Next

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate