The Poseidon Adventure (2005 film)

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The Poseidon Adventure is a 2005 action and adventure film based on a novel by Paul Gallico. It is essentially a remake of the 1972 film of the same name.

The plot centered around the S.S. Poseidon, a state-of-the-art luxury cruise ship on a cruise from Cape Town, South Africa to Sydney, Australia. On New Year's Eve, it is overturned by a terrorist bomb, killing almost all aboard. A passenger attempts to lead a small group of survivors to safety.

The film was made for television by Larry Levenson Productions, directed by John Putch, written by Bryce Zabel, starring Adam Baldwin and Steve Guttenberg. It was first aired on NBC as a single three-hour event on November 20, 2005. It also aired in 2005 on the Seven Network in Australia (with the name The New Poseidon Adventure), and in 2006 on the USA Network in the US. In this adaptation, the plot of the original book and first feature film was altered in that the ship capsized due to a terrorist act. Though many of the characters remained the same, several were added. The character of Mike Rogo was changed to a sea marshal who works for the Department of Homeland Security. The story was altered because it was felt that the original's disaster was unrealistic since a rogue wave out at open sea is thought not to have the strength and size to seriously affect a large vessel. This movie received less-than-enthusiastic reviews from critics (although there were exceptions, such as The New York Times^{[citation needed]} and the New York Post^{[citation needed]}), as well as fans of the original.^{[citation needed]}

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Although the final shots of the film added what was not part of the original film, but was in the book, in that it showed the Poseidon's death throes and sinking. The final shot was from the air as the ship's propellers slipped beneath the surface, which, by design or coincidence, matches several photographs taken by a news plane of the final moments of the SS Andrea Doria in the 1950's. The fictional captain of the S.S. Poseidon is named Paul Gallico, after the author of the original novel, The Poseidon Adventure.