A made-for-television remake of Irwin Allen's 1972 disaster-movie blockbuster of the same title, The Poseidon Adventure updates the story of a capsized cruise ship whose survivors are literally walking on the vessel's ceiling in an effort to save themselves. Fans of the original movie will recognize counterparts to several characters, including Rutger Hauer as a Catholic clergyman who helps lead others through the Poseidon's upside-down maze of rooms, and Sylvia Syms as a frightened widow who finds the resolve to save her companions at a crucial juncture. Bryan Brown plays a hotshot television producer whose young wife (Tinarie Van Wyk) is uncertain of their future; Steve Guttenberg and Alexa Hamilton are a married couple whose marriage is a sinking ship of another sort; and C. Thomas Howell plays the ship's doctor whose broken arm necessitates the aid of a nursing student (Amber Sainsbury). Peter Weller makes a nice impression as Captain Gallico (named after the author of The Poseidon Adventure's source novel) and Adam Baldwin is terrific as a Homeland Security operative. In our current political climate, the temptation is strong to attribute the Poseidon's troubles to terrorists, and that's exactly what happens this time around. Some of the action concerning Al Quaeda-like infiltration of the Poseidon's service staff, the planting of bombs, etc., is a little overdone, and a number of scenes starring British actress Alex Kingston as a senior intelligence official are a bit overwrought. But special effects, while not spectacular, make the Poseidon tragedy unnervingly believable (and visually surreal), and a solid cast keeps the accent on emotion despite the script's tendency to shove speeches in everyone's mouth. --Tom Keogh
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