THE PERFECT STORM
by Sasha Stone

Used to be, a happy ending was required to make a summer blockbuster a hit. Of course, Jim Cameron's Titanic changed all that. Now, as long as the special effects are suitably mind-blowing, audiences can handle a little sadness.

Part Titanic (without the cornball plot) and part Twister (without the absurdly bad dialogue) Wolfgang Peterson's The Perfect Storm is all about the special effects. One killer shot of the infamous fishing boat, the Andrea Gail, heading straight into the hugest, nastiest wave you've ever seen was all it took to draw in crowds by the boatload.

Based on the bestseller by Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm tells the story of the fishing boat that went missing during the "storm of the century," one of the worst to hit the Eastern coast in recorded history. Clooney plays Billy Tyne, the Skipper, while rising star Mark Wahlberg lends the film its much-needed romantic element as Bobby, a loser guy who's finally found the right woman (Diane Lane).

The film opens into the world of hard-core fisherman out of Gloucester, underpaid and overworked, like characters in a Bruce Springsteen song, finding relief and women in the town bar, The Crow's Nest. We spend enough time there to know how much we're supposed to care about the crew - they all come from somewhere, and even the guy who has no one finds a someone to say good-bye to on that fateful day.

The Andrea Gail sets out despite warning signs that there could be trouble ahead: Bobby's girl has a bad feeling, the fish aren't biting, and of course, a storm's coming. The crew begs the Skipper to turn back. But he has too much to prove - a doubting crew, a doubting employer. He promises to bring back the mother load this time. The crew reluctantly agrees.

Meanwhile, the Storm of the Century is building fast, churning the Atlantic to 30-foot waves, so bad that the rescue teams need rescuing. It's not just one storm, it's two storms colliding, and the Andrea Gail is about to be sandwiched between them.

These days, a good effects film can break the bank no matter what the story. Industrial Light and Magic takes the credit for this seamless computer animation. Director Peterson (Das Boot, Air Force One) is at his best once the film shifts from the personal stories to the storm itself, which is, without question, the star.

Giving the storm a run for its money are the fine performances of Clooney and Wahlberg, back together after finding their good chemistry in Three Kings. But the real standout is William Fichtner as Sully. It's hard to believe this is the same actor who played the sweet but wimpy love interest in the awful Demi Moore vehicle, Passion of Mind. Fichtner is that rare performer whose versatility will take him places, especially if he keeps up this extreme mutation from role to role.

While the film suffers from having nowhere to go but down, it manages somehow to raise this story (with the help of the book) to the stuff that myths are made on. After all, what else is there to take from it? There are no lessons to be learned, no redemption to be found - just bad luck and the inevitable humbling of a species that is no match for nature's fury.

CineScene, 2000