Originally Posted by
Hal...
Oh, well yeah, the acting is really good. The fabricated part was... the bit with Affleck jerry rigging a rudder and running the stern half of the ship aground. I'm no engineer but there was something about all that that had me thinking, "this doesn't seem right." In fact, Ray Sybert (played by Affleck) went the other way to keep the ship from running aground. Indeed, the closer you get to shore, the higher the waves. You ever notice surfers rarely go out farther than a few hundred yards from shore? It's because, the deeper the water, the shorter the wave height. If they go out too far, there's nothing to surf. So, why take a battered ship in to shallower water where it will get pummeled by the surf?
Also, another part that had me wondering, was why there was such opposition to his character. As it turns out, Ray Sybert was the chief engineer and the most senior officer onboard, which I don't recall being addressed in the movie. The opposition to him would likely never have occurred. In fact, during the movie, there was no talk or hint of mutiny and that's what was going on. Ships don't operate that way... and for good reason.
Also, while it didn't bother me much, Bernie Webber's girlfriend Miriam didn't ask the CO of the CG station to order Bernie's boat back. Trust me, that would never happen. That was probably the biggest eye-roll moment. But then, it didn't really affect the story so it was kinda forgivable. Oh and Bernie & Miriam were already married at the time. That, too, is a minor point, tho.
But that's Hollywood for ya.
I saw that when it was first released on DVD. I thought it was very good.
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