2016 has had a great track record for some amazing films released. Some of those can be easily picked from like Captain America: Civil War, Zootopia and 10 Cloverfield Lane. Not a whole lot of dramas have been that great this year though. However, there are certain movies that stand out the most. For 2016, we have, in my opinion, the best drama and thriller of the year, Deepwater Horizon.

Deepwater Horizon is based off of a real oil rig located in the Gulf of Mexico. Simply, it tells the story of how an oil rig exploded and spilled tons of oil into the ocean on April 20th, 2010. 11 lives were lost and it is known as one of the biggest oil spills in American History.

The film is directed by Peter Berg who has directed some well-known films such as Hancock and  Lone Survivor (No, I’m not including Battleship). He also has a film coming out next year called Patriots Day.  

Mark Wahlberg is the main actor of Deepwater Horizon, where he plays a character named Mike Williams. Mike Williams was one of the survivors of the Deepwater Horizon and is now a primary person and source to ask what really went down during the destruction of the Deepwater Horizon. He is also a father of a little girl who is now 15 years old. He was one of the last workers to get off the Deepwater Horizon and get into the lifeboats. He has a good sense of humor and heroism throughout the entire film, which is his personality in real life.

In this film, Mark Wahlberg shows that he isn’t just a comedian, but that he can also be an action hero and can play a well-rounded character, which he definitely showcases in this movie. Kurt Russell is also in this film and has been in other well-known films such as The Hateful Eight and Furious 7.  He too does a good job in this film as he plays the manager of the Deepwater Horizon. He plays a heroic and happy character which is how the real manager’s personality was on the real Deepwater Horizon.

Deepwater Horizon, as a whole, is a really well built and interesting film. It definitely has a great representation of the event itself and has some really good actors and action scenes in this film as well. Mark Wahlberg is the best of the three main actors. He has a great sense of humor and fun to his character while being heroic at the same time. The action scenes are really well put together. They really translate as to how the destruction of the Deepwater Horizon went down and makes you feel like you are on the oil rig with the rest of the cast.  

Even though the movie has a lot of positive things to say, there are also a few negatives things to say as well. The first negative about the film is one of the actors in this film, Dylan O’Brien.  He has been movies like The Maze Runner film series and is most popularly known for his performance on a TV series called Teen Wolf. He really didn’t have much of a purpose in the film at all. There wasn’t much character for him. His role is a worker on the Deepwater Horizon and that’s really all he does. He’s just a worker that just happen to survive the destruction of the Deepwater Horizon.

Another negative thing is that it takes a while for the Deepwater Horizon part of the story to happen. The first act of the film is mainly build up to what will eventually happen to the Deepwater Horizon. The build up was perfectly fine though. It just took a little too long for it to build up.

If I were to compare Deepwater Horizon with any film, it would have to be either Captain Phillips or The Finest Hours. The reason i picked these two for comparison because they both deal with tragic events out at sea and both have heroic characters who lead the film while saving people in the process.

Overall, Deepwater Horizon is a really good film. It tells a perfect telling of the story of the oil rig spill and has some great acting from Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell. I’m really interested to see Peter Berg’s next film, Patriot’s Day and see how he tackles more dramas. The only negatives that i have about the film is Dylan O’Brien’s performance and how long it took to get to the Deepwater Horizon part of the movie, For me, i will give this film 4 out of 5 bobcats. It’s definitely worth seeing in theaters and a great drama/thriller film from Peter Berg.