A New Year�s Eve celebration at sea turns into a nightmare in Poseidon, the latest film by Wolfgang Peterson, who also directed Das Boot (1981) and The Perfect Storm (2000). When the luxury ocean liner �Poseidon� is capsized by a sudden massive �rogue wave�, many of the passengers and crew are killed, while many others are stranded. While most of the surviving passengers and crew follow the recommendations of the ship�s captain (Andre Braugher) and stay in the huge ballroom (which is now underwater) for a rescue team to arrive, a few others decide to take their chances by leaving, and trying to make it to the surface. This group embark on a perilous journey up to hull of the ship, and meet up with some other people on the way.

The group of characters are an assortment of archetypes: they include a rugged loner (Josh Lucas), a single mum (Jacinda Barrett) and her child (Jimmy Bennett), a teen couple (Emmy Rossum and Mike Vogel), a gruff father/ex-fireman/former Mayor of New York (Kurt Russell), a lovelorn architect (Richard Dreyfuss), a sleazy gambler (Kevin Dillon), a helpful crewmember (Freddy Rodriguez) and a stowaway (Mia Maestro). As they journey through various sections of the upside-down vessel, the group faces numerous obstacles and hazards, which tests their resolve and calls on their resourcefulness.

This outline virtually sums up what we learn about these characters in the course of the film. Admittedly, they don�t exactly have the time to get to know each other, but the perfunctory attempts at characterisation mainly consist of clunky exposition or broadly drawn personality quirks. While no-one expects any film to provide a detailed biography of each character (particularly this film, with its brief running time), the addition of a telling detail here or a brief line there could have given us more of an insight into these people, and made us care more about them.

An impressive opening shot takes us around the outside of the ship and introduces us to Josh Lucas, who is clearly established as a hero from the beginning. But he�s cast as the heroic loner because, well, every Hollywood movie seems like it has to have one: he�s more of a clichéd staple of the genre than a distinctive character. The entire cast � talented as they are � barely register as individuals. The exception is the always reliable Kurt Russell, who brings gravitas to his thinly written role. But like most of the actors here, you really wish his character had more to work with.

We get bundled into the thrills and spills quickly enough (which include the astonishing moment when the wave hits the boat and a suspenseful scene in a lift shaft), but beyond �wow� factor, do we care? TV shows like Lost feature a larger cast and more complicated plots as well as thrills, and so beyond the spectacle, Poseidon may struggle to engage people who want substance as well as style. There�s one moment involving the fate of a character that�s shocking, simply because it doesn�t feature the heroic sacrifice or last minute rescue that�s a prerequisite of the genre: it�s a surprising and unnerving moment. But on the whole, Poseidon offers very little in the way of surprises or revelations that haven�t been seen in previous disaster movies.

Of course, as with all recent remakes, this film is going to be judged alongside the fondly remembered original film from the 1970s. Poseidon is a slick, efficient melodrama, but it�s doubtful that it will earn the affection that the original has. And with the UK cinema release of Poseidon coinciding with the release of Paul Greengrass� 9/11 docudrama United 93 (2006), Peterson�s film (beyond providing audiences with a diverting series of impressively staged thrills) may strike some people as ultimately inconsequential and irrelevant. Although Poseidon is an occasionally gripping �triumph over adversity� story, it ultimately seems like a hugely expensive B-movie, and yet another remake that�s good, but not as good as the original.

Poseidon screens at the bfi London IMAX Cinema in spectacular digitally re-mastered DMR format.

Digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR* (digital re-mastering) technology, Poseidon: The IMAX Experience will debut concurrently with the nationwide 35mm release from Warner Bros. Pictures.

Moviegoers will experience the impact of the rogue wave - a monstrous wall of water over one hundred feet high - on a giant IMAX screen nearly as high. The large 15/70 film frame, combined with the IMAX projection technology and remarkable sound system, will provide bfi London IMAX Cinema moviegoers with an extraordinary cinematic experience.

"Poseidon is a thrill ride," says Academy Award-nominated director Wolfgang Petersen.  "We want people to feel as though they are on the ship when the giant wave hits. We want to pull them under the water and bring them back up to catch their breath. The IMAX format is so immersive, it's perfectly designed to help draw audiences into the action. "

The bfi London IMAX Cinema is located at South Bank, London SE1. For information on tickets and showtimes, please call 0870 787 2525 or visit the website at www.bfi.org.uk/imax Tickets are on sale now priced £12.00 for adults and £9.75 for concessions. The reduced rate for groups of 10 people or more is £11.00 for adults and £8.75 for concessions.

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