Deepwater Horizon

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Deepwater Horizon

PG-13

2016

1h 47m

Mystery & Thriller

Action

Drama

Adventure

Biography

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

265 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, igniting a massive fireball that kills several crew members. Chief electronics technician Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) and his colleagues find themselves fighting for survival as the heat and the flames become stifling and overwhelming. Banding together, the co-workers must use their wits to make it out alive amid all the chaos.

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Critics Consensus

Deepwater Horizon makes effective use of its titular man-made disaster to deliver an uncommonly serious -- yet still suitably gripping -- action thriller.

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K. Austin Collins

The Ringer

08/10/2017

[Deepwater] knows what it is: not a memorial or a political indictment, but merely a movie.

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

01/17/2017

Clumsy exposition aside, the dialogue feels authentic, tossing around the shorthand and lingo of the job, and the script is precise on the details without getting overwhelmed by them.

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David Sims

The Atlantic

10/30/2016

Viewers will leave with a fine sense of how it felt to be on that blazing rig, but they'll still have plenty of questions about how and why things went so wrong.

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Joe Lipsett

Murder Made Fiction Podcast - Bloody Disgusting

Nov 20

3/5

Despite the star power, there are no characters here. Thankfully Peter Berg's capacity for shooting exciting action sequences is front and center and the night of the BP oil spill provides him with plenty of spectacle.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

04/04/2023

2.5/4

Berg’s idea of social commentary is to shove the American flag into the frame at every opportunity.

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

08/20/2022

4/5

I’m an admitted disaster movie junkie, and many of them depend on some level of sensationalism. “Deepwater Horizon” keeps its focus on the 126 crew members aboard the rig on that horrible day.

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Sharang L

@Scribe187 Feb 24

Scarier than many horror flicks. Pray what was John Malkovich doing in that utterly forgettable part?

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Yaaron R

@KompetenterMedi Jan 29

Disaster as Suffocation Deepwater Horizon transforms real tragedy into an intensely claustrophobic experience. Through disorienting camerawork, oppressive sound design, and relentlessly uncomfortable environments, the film keeps the viewer in a constant state of tension. The drilling and underwater sequences build dread long before catastrophe strikes, while John Malkovich’s cold, arrogant presence adds an unsettling human dimension. Even quieter moments remain emotionally heavy, and the closing tribute to the victims delivers a powerful final punch. This is not spectacle-driven disaster cinema, but suffocating, grounded, and deeply affecting.

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Lucas O.

@bodie5454 Jan 12

Was on the edge of my seat the whole movie. Crazy this is a true story. Mark Wahlberg crushed it.

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Tyler P.

@TylerPhoenixMD Dec 20

Action packed, it’s crazy that it happened in real life! It had me gripping my seat!

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Gary K

@RT77201566 Dec 16

It looked interesting and seemed to start well with good characters and obviously a known story to base events on. However the filming style made it unwatchable, for me at least. Some people seem not to notice. "Shake the camera around it, it'll make it feel like the audience is really there; it'll add tension" doesn't work, has never worked. For the odd scene here and there, maybe, if done right, but when I'm "there" my head doesn't bob up and down or wobble about, nor do I zoom into someone's face, nor do my eyes track across the room when I move my head from left to right. I lasted about 20 minutes.

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David M.

@Dmesuda Sep 26

Solid summer popcorn fare.

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Synopsis

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, igniting a massive fireball that kills several crew members. Chief electronics technician Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) and his colleagues find themselves fighting for survival as the heat and the flames become stifling and overwhelming. Banding together, the co-workers must use their wits to make it out alive amid all the chaos.

Director: Peter Berg
Producer: Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, Stephen Levinson, David Womark, Mark Wahlberg
Screenwriter: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Matthew Sand
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Leverage Entertainment, Participant Media, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Closest to the Hole, Warner Bros. Records, Lionsgate Television
Rating: PG-13 (Disturbing Images|Brief Strong Language|Intense Disaster Sequences)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Action, Drama, Adventure, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 30, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 22, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $61.4M
Runtime: 1h 47m
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos, DTS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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