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Movies / On DVD / White Squall
White Squall

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White Squall (1996)

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Reviews Counted:29

Fresh:18

Rotten:11

Average Rating:5.8/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: Eclectic director Ridley Scott here tries his hand at a coming-of-age tale, which stars Jeff Bridges as ship captain Christopher Sheldon. Based on a true story, the film is set in 1960 as a group... Eclectic director Ridley Scott here tries his hand at a coming-of-age tale, which stars Jeff Bridges as ship captain Christopher Sheldon. Based on a true story, the film is set in 1960 as a group of teenaged prep students signs on to Sheldon's floating summer school, conducted on a two-masted brigantine bound for South America. It soon becomes clear that the gruff but humane captain runs a tight ship as he drills his neophyte crew on the importance of teamwork and discipline. The boys possess a wide range of temperaments--there's the bully, the daredevil, the one plagued by insecurities, the one with demanding parents. Sheldon uses the shipboard chores as tools for dealing with their problems, reining in the obnoxious and encouraging the anxious. Since they are, after all, sailors, they also get a chance to get drunk in port and stop over at a whorehouse. Finally, the crew must confront the fabled white squall, a deadly storm so rare that even Sheldon has never experienced one. Bridges, Ryan Phillippe, Balthazar Getty, and Jeremy Sisto give fine performances in Scott's film of spectacular visual beauty. [More]

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Scott Wolf, Balthazar Getty, Caroline Goodall

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Scott Wolf, Balthazar Getty, Caroline Goodall, John Savage, Jeremy Sisto, Ryan Phillippe, David Lascher, Eric Michael Cole, Jason Marsden, David Selby, Julio Mechoso, Zeljko Ivanek, Ethan Embry

Director: Ridley Scott

Director: Ridley Scott

[See More Credits]

Reviews for White Squall

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21 - 35 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2
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The storm sequence is worth the wait, as scary and dramatically filmed as any ocean disaster you've seen in the movies, but the tribunal that follows is so muddled as to end the film in a great big anti-climax.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
Barbara Shulgasser
Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner

The script is slow and tired. We've seen it all before, and the change of setting has little impact.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

While the denouement is basically another bummer of a letdown, you'll still be coming off that adrenaline rush from the 'squall' scenes.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

This film offers just about everything, including a twenty-minute white-knuckle sequence and a chance to shed a few tears. In short, it's first-rate entertainment.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

Director Ridley Scott, who more than anyone else founded post-1960s visceral filmmaking, is at the top of his form in White Squall.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Millar
Jeff Millar
Houston Chronicle
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/01/00
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

The heavy-handedness of these final scenes will probably ruin the movie for some people, while others will enjoy its earnestness and energy. Count me among the latter group.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kevin McManus
Kevin McManus
Washington Post

The visuals throughout the movie are exhilarating, and the squall scene in particular is pulled off spectacularly (if a bit chaotically). The scene is so powerful, it almost washes away the taint of familiarity...almost.

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

Far too much of this handsomely mounted adventure is devoted to routinely dramatized adolescent minutiae.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Peter Stack
Peter Stack
San Francisco Chronicle

The movie's a shipload of coming-of-age blather, supplemented with enough rolling-sea footage to make the audience yearn for both Dramamine and a decent drowning scene.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Richard Leiby
Richard Leiby
Washington Post

I enjoyed the movie for the sheer physical exuberance of its adventure.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This picture has nothing original to say, and the acting is way below par. Imagine making a show about kids and then not putting in a single kid (or adult for that matter) that you care about.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News
 
 
21 - 35 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2
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