POSEIDON (2006) 1 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, Richard Dreyfuss, Emmy Rossum, Jacinda Barrett, Mike Vogel, Mia Maestro, Jimmy Bennett, Andre Braugher, Freddy Rodriguez and Kevin Dillon. Screenplay by Mark Protsevich, based on the novel by Paul Gallico. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Rated PG-13. Running time: Approx: 98 mins.

       
Director Wolfgang Peterson knows his way around water, having helmed the classic Das Boot as well as the impressive The Perfect Storm.

        He founders, however, with Poseidon, the lavish remake of the daddy of disaster films, The Poseidon Adventure.

        As expected, the special effects for this updated version of Paul Gallico's novel are light years in superiority over L.B. Abbott's work on the original. But Abbott had the burden of having to work without computers.

        No, what sinks Poseidon is the cast. Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss and the rest don't bring any life or depth to their characters. They spend a lot of time shouting and swimming. They are as interchangeable as the prop flotsam strewn around the massive set.

        One big problem with the film is the offhanded explanation for the wave. A rogue wave? And with all the ship's modern equipment it wasn't detected on radar or something? In the original, at least, a line about an undersea earthquake made the wave plausible.

        Here, Andre Braugher as the ship's captain, says that rogue waves sometime pop out of nowhere. Very lame indeed. And with all the advantaged technology on the ship, you'd think the wave would show up on radar or sonar or some -ar.

        If the film has a saving grace, it's the role of the little boy — who was an obnoxious know-it-all in the original. He was the one who knew the way out.

        Here, the little boy is just a scared kid clinging to his mother. It's not as dramatically effective, but it is more true to life.

        The special effects work is the real star. The wave and the scenes of the ship capsizing are more ferocious and graphic than in the original. Bodies are strewn around like paper dolls, giving the sequence more realistic and deadly.

        Poseidon doesn't waste much time. Running about 98 minutes, it quickly gets to what everyone has come to see — disaster and destruction.

        What is lost, however, is time to get to know the characters, so we don't get a chance to empathize with them.

        Sure, the characters in the original were archetypes, but they were ones we could identify with. In Poseidon, the characters are just strangers in jeopardy, going through hoops for our amusement.

        For these reasons, this Poseidon is dead in the water.

        Bob Bloom is the film critic and DVD reviewer at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be reached by e-mail at bbloom@journalandcourier.com or at serialhero48@yahoo.com. Bloom's reviews also can be found at the Journal and Courier Web site: www.jconline.com
Other reviews by Bloom can be found at the Rottentomatoes Web site: www.rottentomatoes.com.