White Squall **** (1996, Jeff Bridges, Caroline Goodall, John Savage, Ryan Phillippe, Scott Wolf, Ethan Embry, Jeremy Sisto) – Classic Movie Review 654

Jeff Bridges stars as sea captain Christopher ‘Skipper’ Sheldon, who teaches a bunch of teenage lads the ropes aboard ships, in this 1996 thrilling, old-style high-seas adventure. It’s based on a real tale in 1960 when 13 Ocean Academy lads set off on a year’s training on the good ship Albatross and got into a lot of deep water.

The first half is a bright and jolly mix of Treasure Island and Dead Poets Society, in which the boys become men by standing up to the sea and to what’s wrong in their lives and characters. The terrifying second-half storm, in which several boys are killed, is spectacularly staged.

However, the subsequent trial of Bridges for lack of due care and attention while skippering unfortunately tends to plunge the film into TV movie territory. It gives the ending a lightweight and clichéd feel just when it should be powering up emotionally.

Bridges, however, is very good, earnest and utterly credible in the star role, and the great team of young actors (including Ryan Phillippe, Scott Wolf, Ethan Embry, Eric Michael Cole, Jeremy Sisto, David Lascher and Balthazar Getty) are excellent too.

However, the film finally seems an odd choice for director Ridley Scott, who never quite explains why he was keen to film this story. He does make a marvellous job of staging the storm, though, and maybe it was this that attracted him to the project. It was a costly movie ($38million) that, despite all the testosterone on screen, didn’t really click at the box office (only taking $10million in the US).