Poseidon [Limited Edition] 4K Ultra HD Review

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Introduction: A contemporary version of a disaster masterpiece

Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, The Perfect Storm) directed 2006’s Poseidon, which marks the third feature film interpretation of Paul Gallico’s book The Poseidon Adventure. Presented simultaneously in IMAX, this Warner Bros. release provided a casual, current updating of the cherished 1972 movie. Boasting a star-studded ensemble cast including Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, Richard Dreyfuss, Emmy Rossum, and Jacinda Barrett, the film tried to renew the high-stakes survival tale of an ocean liner catastrophe for a new generation, making use of then- cutting-edge visual effects.

Summary of the storyline: A struggle for survival against improbable odds.

During its New Year’s Eve trip, the film revolves around the lavish ocean liner Poseidon. An unbelievable catastrophe occurs amid the festivities: a massive “rogue wave” slams the ship with catastrophic power, overturning it totally. Stuck within the inverted, swiftly flooding vessel, a varied group of passengers and crew has to negotiate a dangerous maze of debris. While the captain of the ship suggests staying put for aid, a small group—headed by a clever gambler (Josh Lucas) and including a former firefighter and mayor (Kurt Russell), a grieving architect (Richard Dreyfuss), a determined mother (Jacinda Barrett), and others—believes their only chance lies in climbing upwards toward the exposed hull of the ship. Testing their bravery, inventiveness, and will to survive against collapsing structures, flooding rooms, and other lethal hazards, their dangerous voyage through the bowels of the sinking ship makes up the film’s nonstop, action-driven core.

Manufacturing and Design: Construction of an Upside-Down World

For Poseidon, Wolfgang Petersen went back to his nautical background. Starting in mid-2005, manufacturing included enormous actual sets built at Burbank’s Warner Bros. Studios. Inspired by actual liners like the RMS Queen Mary 2, the design team’s greatest achievement was constructing two copies of important sets—one properly orientated and one painstakingly detailed upside-down replica. The film’s main attraction, the inverted grand ballroom, was erected over a huge water tank to enable controlled flooding scenes vital to the story. The actors were given real settings with this mix of practical construction, hence improving the film’s gut-feeling. External views of the ship depended completely on advanced digital models.

Visual Effects: Creating Digital Destruction

The wonder of the movie relies on its visual effects, which are coordinated by CIS Hollywood, Scanline VFX, Moving Picture Company (MPC), and industry giants Industrial Light & amp; Magic (ILM). Including a technically difficult, nearly 3-minute opening flyover sequence highlighting the ship’s size, ILM built the whole digital Poseidon exterior. Simulating the catastrophic wave and the complicated flooding of the inverted interiors posed big difficulties. Teams used unique programs including PhysBAM (created at Stanford University), MPC’s in-house tools, Scanline’s Flowline for fluid and gas effects, and RealFlow for water dynamics. The immersive catastrophe look of the movie depended on the perfect mixing of actual sets with virtual water, destruction, and surroundings. At the 79th Academy Awards, Poseidon got nominated for Best Visual Effects for this technological accomplishment.

Music: Orchestral Tension and In-Flight Entertainment

Known for his work on Gladiator and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Klaus Badelt created the musical score for Poseidon. His orchestral score emphasizes tension, drama, and the continuous tempo of the survival voyage. Reflecting the New Year’s Eve backdrop, the soundtrack includes source music performed by Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson in her position as singer Gloria and tracks by Argentine artist Federico Aubele, adding texture to the shipboard scenes prior to catastrophe.

Criticism and Legacy: Spectacle Over Substance?

Poseidon got mixed-to-negative reviews from critics when it debuted in May 2006. Recognizing the technical skill on display, reviewers mostly praised the film’s stunning visual effects, vast realistic sets, and unrelenting, well-executed action scenes. But Mark Protosevich aimed scathing criticism at the unfinished screenplay. Many believed the characters lacked depth and engaging arcs, acting more as archetypes to negotiate the dangerous settings rather than as whole, actual people. The movie was also criticized for its lack of originality and repetition of well-known disaster movie clichés devoid of any meaningful fresh depth to the basic idea set centuries earlier. Although it made $181 million globally, its high production cost ($160 million) and significant advertising costs led to expected losses of $70–80 million, making it a prominent box-office failure. Although remembered for its technical accomplishments and high-intensity action, Poseidon is mostly seen as a beautiful but ultimately hollow entry in the disaster genre, failing to capture the character-driven resonance of its 1972 predecessor.

The Video

Poseidon was taken from a 2K DI and restored and color graded in 4K by Arrow Video at Duplitech.  The fact that this is an upscale to 4K means we don’t see the same sort of extra-fine, refined grain we would normally see from a film shot on the 35mm Kodak Vision2 500T 5218 film stock. We can also see some resolution issues in the CGI like jaggies around edges. None of the latter is a consequence of the transfer, however. In order to squeeze the most out of this film on 4K they would have to go back and redo the visual effects in 4K or higher and scan the negative in 4K or higher. Still, it looks pretty good for what it is, especially with the added Dolby Vision that does give the highlights in fire good color gradients and pop.

The Audio

The 5.1 mix for Poseidon is included in DTS-HD Master Audio and sounds awesome. The dynamic range is very wide, the low end is staggering and floor-rattling, and the spread of sounds from atmospherics to solid effects is very balanced across the front and surrounds. Dialogue is clean and doesn’t get lost in the din of sounds.

The Supplements

Arrow includes a bunch of new featurettes with this release of Poseidon and some archival featurettes in addition to an illustrated booklet with essay.

Limited Edition Contents:

• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jacey
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Priscilla Page

Bonus Features:

• Ocean Views (1080p; 00:14:32) – New interview with director of photography John Seale
• Big Sets for Big-Time Directors (1080p; 00:13:08) – A new interview with production designer William Sandell
• Surfing the VFX Wave (1080p; 00:18:23) – A new interview with visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis
• Bringing out the Dead (1080p; 00:11:47) – A new interview with make-up effects on-set supervisor Michael Deak
• Set a Course for Adventure (1080p; 00:17:09) – A retrospective on the film by film critic Heath Holland of Cereal at Midnight
• A Ship on a Soundstage (1080p/60 upscaled; 00:22:43) – An archival featurette on the film’s production featuring interviews with cast and crew
• Upside Down (1080p/60 upscaled; 00:10:46) – An archival featurette on the film’s unique set design challenges
• A Shipmate’s Diary (1080p/60 upscaled; 00:12:23) – An archival featurette following production assistant Malona Voigt as she performs her duties on set.

The Final Assessment

Poseidon on 4K from Arrow makes for an excellent audio reference, especially for those who love a big low-end. The movie is average and not up to the quality of the original 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure, but it still works as a good popcorn spectacle.

Poseidon [Limited Edition] is out August 12, 2025 from Arrow Video

Details

• Rating Certificate: PG-13 (for intense prolonged sequences of disaster and peril)
• Studios & Distributors: Warner Bros. | Virtual Studios | Radiant Productions | Next Entertainment | Irwin Allen Productions | Synthesis Entertainment | Arrow Video
• Director: Wolfgang Petersen
• Written By: Mark Protosevich | Paul Gallico
• Run Time: 98 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• HDR10 Metadata:
  • MaxLL: 651 nits
  • MaxFALL: 306 nits
• Primary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Street Date: 12 August 2025