DEEPWATER HORIZON

(2016) In 2010 when the BP oil spill happened, polluting the Gulf of Mexico with the worst oil spill in American history, I was working as a fundraiser, including envrionmental causes, and the heinous crime of the BP spill was part of my "pitch" in trying to get people to give.  Mark Wahlberg stars in this film dramatization of the offshore drilling rig's destruction, and as a guy old enough to remember the "disaster movie" craze started by Irwin Allen in the 1970's, to me Deepwater Horizon felt very much like one of those films ... yet, somehow, without characters that ever fully came to life for me.  The effects and story and subsequent rescue of those still trapped on the rig are well-done and enthralling, however, still earning a higher rating from me; director Peter Berg handles the drama and the mechanics of the film wonderfully, building up tension and keeping things tight.  Mark Wahlberg turns in his usual solid performance, essentially playing Mark Wahlberg but creating empathy as Mike Williams, a man determined to survive to see his wife and young daughter again.  The oil company guys, led by John Malkovich, are as greedy and slimy as I'm sure their real-life counterparts are (how these men got off without even manslaughter charges for those who died in the disaster is beyond me) - stock characters, really - but its Gina Rodriguez as Andrea who really carried the heart of the film for me; I wish, in fact, they'd devoted more time to developing her character and story, it would have made for a richer film.  Deepwater Horizon is a serviceable, well-made disaster film that will keep you intensely interested throughout, even if it's heart does feel a little bit hollow.  (rated PG-13)  7/10 stars