Perfect: Being without defect or blemish: a perfect specimen. The setting of the Perfect Storm is Halloween, 1991, when a group of fishermen from Gloucester, MA, are caught in the middle of a storm like no other, the collision of three major systems.

For the most part, the movie is in awe of the storm. And if you are at all at interested in seeing this film, it is definitely one that you need to see on the big screen. Video isn't going to give you the overwhelming power of being doused by these enormous waves.

A by-product of the movie is that along the way we get glimpses of the fishermen and their craft. There's the captain, Billy Tyne, who is going through a bad patch. He drags his crew out for one last haul, going out further than sanity should dictate. But Billy is either desperate or arrogant, or maybe a mixture of both. The crew go along with him, not really thinking too much, just keen to do what they love and earn enough money to survive.

And when the fishing starts it's easy to get caught up in the action. Rookie Bobby Shatford, played by Mark Wahlberg gets bitten by a shark that was blown on board by a freak wave. Veteran nice guy Murph, John C. Reilly, is dragged overboard and rescued by the only guy he hates. But in the end, it comes down to the storm and how the men and their boat will deal with it.

To add to the action, there's also a pleasure vessel that runs into to trouble on route to Bermuda. They are rescued by the Coast Guard, who run into troubles of their own.

Throughout the movie, I was constantly reminded of my studies of Ancient Greek tragedies. The actions of the crew are classic hubris, ate, and nemesis. Billy Tyne and his crew evoke hubris when they even think they could beat nature, especially nature as worked up as this storm. But then again, they need a certain amount of hubris to go out and do what they do everyday. While trying to help out the crew, the coast guard pilot says "Gloucester, they're always from Gloucester." Maybe it's because Gloucester fishermen take more chances than others, but maybe it's because they have to.

If there's a fault in this movie, it's that there isn't enough character development to get us as emotionally involved with the people as we might. For example, I found George Clooney's portrayal of Tyne to be so arrogant, I didn't really care much about him. But I surely did care about the storm and the sea, and I came away with a healthy respect for nature and fishermen. The Perfect Storm is engaging, thrilling, and action packed. I enjoyed it very much.


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