Movie · 2016 · Drama, Action · 1h 47m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 4.9/10 (333.7K ratings)
When faced with our darkest hour, hope is not a tactic.
Overview
A story set on the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which exploded during April 2010 and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.9/10
IMDb: 7.1/10
Letterboxd: 3.42/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
Metacritic: 68
TMDB: 6.9/10
Director
Peter Berg
Production
Summit Entertainment, Participant, di Bonaventura Pictures, Closest to the Hole Productions, Leverage Entertainment, TIK Films
Cast
Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O'Brien, Kate Hudson, J.D. Evermore, Ethan Suplee, Dave Maldonado, Henry Frost, Jeremy Sande, Brad Leland, Douglas M. Griffin, Joe Chrest, James DuMont, Chris Ashworth, Rob Steinberg, Peter Berg, Anthony "Ace" Thomas, Stella Allen
Where to watch
Netflix, Peacock Premium, Netflix Standard with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A tense, muscular disaster thriller that works best as a procedural about competence under pressure. It takes a little time to set the stage, but once the crisis hits, the staging, effects, and ensemble give it real momentum.
Best for
disaster-movie fans
viewers who like true-story survival dramas
audiences who enjoy blue-collar workplace tension
people who want a straightforward, high-intensity thriller
Skip if
you want deep character psychology over action
you dislike slow-burn setup before the disaster
you prefer subtle, understated filmmaking
you are looking for a purely factual documentary-style account
Overview
Deepwater Horizon is built like a pressure cooker: patient setup, then escalating catastrophe. Peter Berg keeps the focus on procedures, alarms, and split-second decisions, which gives the film a clean, propulsive shape even when the characters are drawn in broad strokes.
Worth noting
What makes it land is the physical immediacy. The rig feels lived-in, the effects are convincing, and the movie understands that disaster is often most frightening when it looks like ordinary work until it suddenly isn’t. The cast is strong across the board, with Kurt Russell and Mark Wahlberg anchoring the chaos effectively.
Bottom line
It is not especially nuanced about corporate negligence or the people caught in the middle, but it is very good at what it sets out to do. If you want a big, efficient survival thriller with real-world stakes and strong momentum in the back half, this is an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
shay (4★) · 2259 likes
when the credits started rolling in and mark wahlberg's name showed up my mom was like "hold on, was that not matt damon?" and i looked into a non existent camera like i was on the office
DirkH (4★) · 562 likes
Not the best film of 2016, but certainly the most surprising one in that, you know, it's actually really good.
Going into a film like this with your thinking cap on is a mistake and in this case it's no different. Deepwater Horizon is as straightforward as it gets. It presents a fictionalised reality we have gotten to know so well by now. No real characters, but relatable stereotypes that behave exactly how you expect them to. Plot- and characterwise… more
cassie (3★) · 537 likes
me when dylan was on screen: delicious. finally some good fucking food.
kylie (3★) · 456 likes
titanic for men
ziwe (5★) · 333 likes
I watched this in increments because I could not stomach the reality that the largest ecocide in recorded history was caused by Being John Malkovich.