The Perfect Storm (2000)

47% of critics liked it
(132 reviews)
58% of users liked it
(231,546 ratings)

In October 1991, a dying tropical hurricane from Bermuda collided with a cold front from the Great Lakes, resulting in a "perfect storm" of previously unknown destructive impact that resulted in 100-foot waves; tragically, the crew of a fishing boat was lost in the midst of the fearsome storm. Based… More In October 1991, a dying tropical hurricane from Bermuda collided with a cold front from the Great Lakes, resulting in a "perfect storm" of previously unknown destructive impact that resulted in 100-foot waves; tragically, the crew of a fishing boat was lost in the midst of the fearsome storm. Based on the best-selling book by Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm tells the story of the ship's brave and hard-working crew. Billy Tyne (George Clooney), captain of the Andrea Gail, hasn't had much luck finding catch on his most recent trips to sea, and with money short, he and his crew -- Bob Shatford (Mark Wahlberg), Dale Murphy (John C. Reilly), and David Sullivan (William Fichtner) set out again when they hear that the fish are running. Billy's hunch proves correct, but when the ship's refrigeration system goes haywire, they have to return to shore as quickly as possible before the fish spoil, sending them into the middle of the worst storm in history. The supporting cast includes Mary Elziabeth Mastrantonio, Diane Lane, Bob Gunton, and Karen Allen; Wolfgang Petersen, whose breakthrough film was the aquatic wartime drama Das Boot, directed. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 2 hr. 9 min.
Directed By: Wolfgang Petersen, Allen Payne
Written By: William D. Wittliff
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Jun 30, 2000 Wide
On DVD: Nov 14, 2000
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Critic Reviews

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Think of something with the heart and soul of a Conrad yarn, yet buttressed by very special effects and shrewdly packaged for devotees of the Outdoor Living Network
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
A sense of reality is essential, and it's sorely lacking.
Joel Siegel, Good Morning America
An awfully good film
Steve Murray, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When so many movies promise a roller-coaster ride, Storm is one of the few that delivers more than noise.
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
The audience, with good reason, is much more conflicted in the end about this voyage than the crew, and so we are put in the unfortunate position of feeling superior to these men.
Todd McCarthy, Variety
A picture that leaves one thinking less about the fates of the characters than about how the actors had to spend most of their working days soaking wet.
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
feels more like a made-for-TV movie
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Scary and sad are the main concerns here.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
The thrills come in an emotional vacuum--even more problematic considering Petersen spends so much time trying to develop a human center.
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
An expertly crafted Hollywod entertainment...[constructed] as a series of grippingly fateful 'moments of truth.' [Blu-Ray]
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
The storytelling in The Perfect Storm may be a bit wayward, but its heart and special effects are in the right place. (Blu-ray Edition)
Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
The storm looks perfect, but the real danger here is the tidal wave of mediocrity and cliches.
John Venable, Supercala.com
The story could've told itself in a compelling way without invented drama.
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
Once the digital effects commence The Perfect Storm has all the impact of watching a friend play Nintendo.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Alexander D

The thing that really irks me about THE PERFECT STORM is that I had read that it was a disaster film (and it's made pretty much clear in the title), but the actual disaster didn't get started for a whole forty minutes, which almost brought me to the point of thinking that… More
The thing that really irks me about THE PERFECT STORM is that I had read that it was a disaster film (and it's made pretty much clear in the title), but the actual disaster didn't get started for a whole forty minutes, which almost brought me to the point of thinking that "Perfect Storm" was some kind of metaphor. The basic layout is as follows: 1-30 minutes - characters are introduced with enough relationship statuses, innuendos, overly charismatic drama to create an entire soap opera; 31-40 minutes - the characters leave their spouses/fiancÃ (C)es, board the ship, but continue with the non sequiturs and double entendres that make you groan, "Enough already!"; 41-120 minutes - over an hour of TITANIC-esque intensity and dazzling (but terrifying, considering this is based on a true story) disaster scenes--which is exciting, but it makes you think, "We go from soap opera...to disaster?", because the beginning does NOT make sense to the rest of the film; 121-128 minutes - the film is coming to an end, with slightly less intensity, but thankfully no "return of the soap opera"; 129 minutes - the film's over, folks, you can go home now. That's the gist of this mediocre movie. It's just what you expect of a shipwreck film.
Brad W

A movie that leads to nothing and you leave the theatre feeling crappy for seeing it. Its depressing, it leads to no conclusion, and i'm glad The Simpsons were bold enough to make fun of this crap. I never felt intense when watching it, and even with a all star cast it has… More
A movie that leads to nothing and you leave the theatre feeling crappy for seeing it. Its depressing, it leads to no conclusion, and i'm glad The Simpsons were bold enough to make fun of this crap. I never felt intense when watching it, and even with a all star cast it has nothing great about. Only reason I gave it a 1.5 is because the acting was decent. this film is not worth it.
Jeff "

A good effort from Wolfgang Petersen, The Perfect Storm is about the 1991 Hurricane that struck the New England Coast. Unaware that the storm is coming a boat dubbed the Andrea Gail is stuck in the storm and the fisherman try to make it home alive. The Perfect Storm is a terrific true… More
A good effort from Wolfgang Petersen, The Perfect Storm is about the 1991 Hurricane that struck the New England Coast. Unaware that the storm is coming a boat dubbed the Andrea Gail is stuck in the storm and the fisherman try to make it home alive. The Perfect Storm is a terrific true story, packed with drama and action. The scope of the film is incredible. The storm itself is a sight to see on screen. The cast do an incredible at showing the immense dilemma that the characters are in. The Perfect Storm is a good film from Petersen, but considering it's made by the man who made Das Boot, this is slightly disappointing, but not by much. The film has a terrific story and a great cast, but you'd expect something more solid from the man who directed one of the greatest war films, right? But The Perfect Storm is still a good piece dramatic action. The cast do a fine job at bringing these characters to life, and you wish that they do survive the Hurricane. Unfortunately it is not to be. The Perfect Storm conveys a sense of human emotion perfectly, without making it feel too cheesy. The Perfect Storm relies on awesome special effects for the Hurricane scenes which make the film better than it is. The Perfect Storm is far from excellent, but it's definitely a solid action drama film with a top notch cast of actors. Wolfgang Petersen is a fine director, but this is of course not one of his strongest films. That honor belongs to Das Boot. The Perfect Storm is a thrilling film of survival against impossible odds, and sometimes those odds overcome the courage or insanity? of some men. A good, entertaining film.
Christopher A

The Perfect Storm is abotu a group of fisherman who decide to brave it through a hurricane to save their catch and make some money. If you can ignore the fact that real fisherman respect the sea and would never be so reckless, The Perfect Storm is an exciting picture that really… More
The Perfect Storm is abotu a group of fisherman who decide to brave it through a hurricane to save their catch and make some money. If you can ignore the fact that real fisherman respect the sea and would never be so reckless, The Perfect Storm is an exciting picture that really flexes its CGI muscles when the storm hits the boat. Fast paced and visually pleasing we will the sailors to fight the storm and survive and with Mark Wahlberg thankfully leaving his shirt on for once we can enjoy their plight as the raging waters oppose their passage. "I always find the fish. Always!"
KJ P

The title says it all, and more. I wished this movie to be good, and I was overwhelmed by it's greatness. The cast actually makes you believe that these things are happening. I did not expect the end, but it's okay, it had a great message, and I admire that 100%. This was an… More
The title says it all, and more. I wished this movie to be good, and I was overwhelmed by it's greatness. The cast actually makes you believe that these things are happening. I did not expect the end, but it's okay, it had a great message, and I admire that 100%. This was an amazing film!
jay n

something to be appreciated not enjoyed.
Dan S

Definitely has some incredible special effects, but obvious cliches like two brothers fighting (Reilly and Fichtner), a love story (between Wahlberg and Lane), and a fearless and gruff commander (Clooney) weigh this movie down to a large degree. Certainly watchable, mainly due to its… More
Definitely has some incredible special effects, but obvious cliches like two brothers fighting (Reilly and Fichtner), a love story (between Wahlberg and Lane), and a fearless and gruff commander (Clooney) weigh this movie down to a large degree. Certainly watchable, mainly due to its slam-bang ending, but also certainly skip-able, basically because predictability surfaces on more than one occasion. Peterson has done far better.
Anthony L

Far from a perfect film, Wolfgang Petersen has made better!
Jason O

Ever since I first saw the previews to "The Perfect Storm," I was dying to see the movie. I finally got to rent the movie and see it. Before watching it, I had noticed that overall the movie wasn't getting that great of reviews on Amazon, and I had someone tell me that… More
Ever since I first saw the previews to "The Perfect Storm," I was dying to see the movie. I finally got to rent the movie and see it. Before watching it, I had noticed that overall the movie wasn't getting that great of reviews on Amazon, and I had someone tell me that it was a rip off. After watching it, I honestly can't say that I saw anything that wasn't great about the movie. Every single thing about the movie is great. It's based on a true story of a tragedy that took place during Hurricane Grace in the 90s. A captain (George Clooney) and his swordfishing crew take to the seas around Bermuda to try and catch as many fish as they can in order to earn a lot of money and impress their main employer. Everything is smooth sailing until they are caught up in the middle of what many called "The storm of the century." It's a huge hurricane and they're heading straight for the worst part of it. If they turn back to avoid the storm, their fish will rot and they won't get much money. But if they ride the storm out, they could still get their fish to the docks in time to get a good load of money, but they would be risking their lives a lot more by doing that than they would if they were to turn back. "The Perfect Storm" is a great movie in every way. The plot is easy to understand, it has some great special effects and suspense, and most of the actors do a great job to make this movie a success. I recommend anybody who wants to see a great movie to purchase "The Perfect Storm" as soon as they can. It's definitely one of the best movies of the year. NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2000. Always love movies about weather and storms, so this was as up my alley as possible.
Jani H

The film starts up pretty slowly but when they head up for sea... it's showtime! The CGI storm sequences are one of the best I've seen. Saw it the first time when it was released and now again, and I can say that in comparison to films of today, it stands tall. But is the… More
The film starts up pretty slowly but when they head up for sea... it's showtime! The CGI storm sequences are one of the best I've seen. Saw it the first time when it was released and now again, and I can say that in comparison to films of today, it stands tall. But is the movie any good? Like you all know, it's based on a true story. But did they really make the decisions they did in the movie? Probably not, cuz in the movie, they broke the first rule that all seaman obey. They didn't respect the power and will of the sea and tried to earn some money instead by making stupid choices. And as a seaman myself, that disturbed me a lot! Sure, it's entertaining and the ending is intense but it's hard to believe that the guys (R.I.P) would've chosen chance instead of choice...
Lorenzo v

Bobby:"Christina? Christina, can you hear me? I don't know if you can, but I'm talking to ya, baby. Do you know how much I love you? I loved you the moment I saw you. I love you now, and I'll love you forever. No goodbye. There's only love, Christina.… More
Bobby:"Christina? Christina, can you hear me? I don't know if you can, but I'm talking to ya, baby. Do you know how much I love you? I loved you the moment I saw you. I love you now, and I'll love you forever. No goodbye. There's only love, Christina. Only love." While it may have its fair share of "Bad Things You Shouldn't Include in Your Movie" but, as disaster films go, this one is up there. It has set new standards to other disaster films out there and if you look at it in a visual aspect, it is better than stunning. The film is based on Sebastian Junger's 1997 best selling book about the loss of the sword-boat `Andrea Gail' in a ferocious storm off the New England coast in 1991 and directed by Wolfgang Petersen who gave us another maritime drama with Das Boot. The lead roles are taken by George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg who were together in Three Kings and seem likely to continue pairing up in further movies. The dialogue is often hard to follow, but in fact there is minimal plot or characterisation. Instead, as in Twister, it is the elements which are center stage and the special effects are utterly believable ? in both films, Industrial Light and Magic was responsible. 3.5/5
Lenny M

Ironic title, let's praise bad weather that takes lives?
Curtis L

I hate George Clooney for the most part.
Keysha H

It was a good movie..but how do they know what happened on the boat if everyone died! Uhg.
Jens S

While the movie starts out with a lot of character building and doing that by having them say more or less cheesy dialogues, the second half is extremely exciting and moving. Once the storm enters the scene like a gigantic villain, carried by great special effects and a beautiful… More
While the movie starts out with a lot of character building and doing that by having them say more or less cheesy dialogues, the second half is extremely exciting and moving. Once the storm enters the scene like a gigantic villain, carried by great special effects and a beautiful soundtrack, it's a pretty wild ride. While a different ending would have made the movie even more special it's after a real event after all and can't be blamed for facts, I suppose. Just try not to cry at the end.
Lafe F

Mostly forgettable summer movie effort. It inspired a good Simpsons episode. The movie had great CGI storm effects.
Dean !

Only seen it once, loosely based on a true story i think? Show what happened when a small fishing boat got caught up in a huge storm. Good SFX.
Aliyanto L

Wolfgang's best movie making!
Dean M

Unbelievable true disaster story in this dramatisation of the events that befall fishing boat Andrea Gale and its crew is a major washout.
Jason S

It was ok.