sddavis63 Review of Deadliest Sea

Deadliest Sea (2009 TV Movie)

An Exciting Story Without Hollywood Glitz Or Big Stars

[8/10 · 16 January 2010]

I have to admit that I'm surprised by the poor reviews and rating this movie gets. Yes, it lacks the glitziness and big budget and stunning sets of a major Hollywood production. It's a low budget, made for TV Canadian production. In that sense, I suppose it pales in comparison to its most obvious "relation" - "A Perfect Storm." The basic story is the same as that Hollywood blockbuster, except that this movie has a fishing vessel encountering a massive storm in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska. I liked the lack of Hollywood glitz. I thought it gave this movie a more "raw" feel. The shipboard sets seemed quite realistic, and I thought the performances - which some criticize - were fine. Where I thought the production fell down a bit was in the off-ship scenes, which essentially are the opening and closing parts of the movie. The opening (as Tommy looks for work on a fishing vessel) did come across as a bit wooden, and the closing (as Tommy and Stubbs share a beer and reflect on their adventure, they being the only survivors of the disaster) was a bit preachy and seemed to try too hard to be philosophical. Personally, though, I thought the account of the crew's struggle with the storm was very well done and very exciting, and more than made up for those opening and closing problems. If you need Hollywood glitz and big name stars to make a movie work, then don't bother with this. Just watch "A Perfect Storm." But if you want an exciting and realistic adventure, this works quite well. 8/10