White Squall1996
White Squall (1996)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Though it gets occasionally bogged down by touchy-feely sentiment, White Squall benefits greatly from Jeff Bridges' assured lead performance and Ridley Scott's visceral, exciting direction.
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Cast
as Christopher Sheldon
as Dr. Alice Sheldon
as McCrea
as Chuck Gieg
as Frank Beaumont
as Tod Johnstone
as Tracy Lapchick
as Gil Martin
as Robert March
as Dean Preston
as Girard Pascal
as Shay Jennings
as Francis Beaumont
as Sanders
as Charles Gieg
as Middy Gieg
as Peggy Beaumont
as Cuban Commander
as Tyler
as Girl In Brothel
as Ms. Boyde
as Bregitta
as Relief Bo'sun
as Crew Member
as Crew Member
as Crew Member
as Danish Schoolgirl
as Danish Schoolgirl
as Danish Schoolgirl
as Danish Schoolgirl
as Danish Schoolgirl
as Danish Schoolgirl
as Danish Schoolgirl
as Danish Schoolgirl
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Critic Reviews for White Squall
All Critics (35) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (21) | Rotten (14) | DVD (2)
The filmmakers take a rather facile, anachronistic "Oprah"-esque approach toward the boys' feelings about their families and the Skipper's role as a "tough love"-minded surrogate father.
This particular landlubber felt like jelly for the rest of the day, notwithstanding the hokey courtroom showdown that closes the picture.
Despite great scenery, the distinctive visual ideas of Mr. Scott (Alien, Blade Runner) and the strong dramatic presence of Mr. Bridges, most of White Squall remains listless and tame.
Typically, Bridges gives a deftly understated performance uncluttered by vanity or shallow pathos. No wonder he's not a star.
The 20 or so minutes we spend with the Albatross in the squall is high adventure, to be sure. Everything else is ballast.
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.
Audience Reviews for White Squall
The strongest force in nature is the will to survive.
Super Reviewer
A group of teenage boys learn discipline, courage, and what it's like to stick together as a unit as they aboard the Albatross and ride it out into the great wide open in the Caribbean. Whether they're there because their parents want them to grow up and learn responsibility, or whether they're there because they want to be, they will all learn the comraderie, the hardships, and everything else that goes along with traveling to sea. All of the good and the bad must come together when the Albatross runs into a white squall, a MAJOR storm at sea. How could anybody not love "White Squall"? There are a lot of great movies about going out to sea, and "White Squall" is up there with the best of them. It's not like "Crimson Tide", "U-571", and those; it's a spectacular coming of age film that has nothing to do with war. Scott Wolf, Ryan Phillippe, and the rest of the crew do a good job of acting, and Jeff Bridges does the best of all in portraying the sternness, yet warm-hearted character that is the Skipper. If you're a fan of coming of age movies like "Stand By Me", and if you like very entertaining movies that explore the hardships of life to a tee, get "White Squall" right NOW! It's one of the best movies you've never heard of. Example line from the movie: "I don't want it to end. I don't want to go back to what I was before I came here: anonymous." NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2002.
Super Reviewer
One of Ridley Scott's less interesting offerings, this ocean bound adventure is typically nicely shot, but the onboard soulsearching is contrived and uninteresting. An interest in and knowledge of sailing would probably help. But I have neither.
Super Reviewer
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