Nearly a perfect film, from its bold and epic man-vs.-nature conflict to the breathless scripting, editing, acting, and direction.
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Dive right in if you're looking for an old-fashioned entertainment that delivers corny romance, turbulent action, and enough wave-churning seascapes to make "Titanic" seem landlocked.
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
The problem with The Perfect Storm is that while its roiling collision of weather systems is pulled off with cinematic deftness, the actors who stand there getting lashed and splashed don't have anything terribly interesting to say.
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Does about as good a job of simulating that terror as it possibly could, but it's no competition for what we create in our mind's eye while reading.
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Unabashedly designed to blow its audience away.
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
The stick-figure people in the script haven't the slightest chance of making an impression, and you're more excited at the prospect of the next big wave?
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
By the end, I felt like a beetle going round and round in a toilet bowl that just wouldn't stop flushing.
60
Film.comRobert Horton
Film.comRobert Horton
The storm is the reason to see the movie.
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Petersen gives us monumental images of waves and rain and wind, but the editing is so choppy that the images don't build and crest.
40
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It's shocking, considering the talent involved, the The Perfect Storm looks and feels fake.