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Parents' Guide to

Poseidon

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Graphic disaster flick. Not for younger kids.

Movie PG-13 2006 99 minutes
Poseidon Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 1 parent review

Mr C.
Mr C. Parent
December 3, 2018
age 15+

Good movie...for teens

The movie really was good in my dad perspective, but I really don't think you should let anyone under the age of 15 watch it, and I'm a kid (I don't know why it says I'm a parent), so trust me here. The movie has TONS of blood and gore every 5 minutes! And survivors are killed in bloody scenes or non bloody scenes.... recommend for teens and adults.
See all 1 parent review

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 (1 ):
Kids say (22 ):

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

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