Ghost Ship (2002)

GHOST SHIP (2002) 1 star out of 4. Starring Julianna Margulies, Ron Eldard, Desmond Harrington, Isaiah Washington, Emily Browning and Gabriel Byrne. Story by Mark Hanlon. Screenplay by Mark Hanlon and John Pogue. Directed by Steve Beck. Rated R. Approx. 95 minutes.

Ghost Ship launches in a promising manner, looking like it will be sort of a sea-faring Shining.

But then it founders on an ocean of sloppy plotting, clichés and stock characters.

Most maddening are the questions it raises and leaves unanswered, the inconsistencies in behavior among the principals and the preposterous reaches it forces the viewer to make.

The movie plays out like a five minute idea stretched to 95 minutes.

The opening scene jolts you awake with its brutality, and nothing else in the film tops it.

The story revolves around a mysterious luxury liner found derelict and drifting in the Bering Sea. A salvage tug led by the tough old salt Murphy (Gabriel Byrne), and his crew head out to tow it in and claim whatever money they can for it.

Murphy's crew consists of his business partner Epps (Julianna Margulies), Dodge (Ron Eldard), Greer (Isaiah Washington) and Santos (Alex Dimitriades) as well as a new arrival, Ferriman (Desmond Harrington), who informed them about the liner's location.

Of course, things start going wrong from the outset. People begin hearing and seeing things. Epps has an encounter with a little dead girl who warns her to leave the ship, or else.

What is all boils down to basically is a gold robbery and collecting souls for hell. Getting the two to mesh is like combining liverwurst and cavier, they just don't mix.

Exposition litters Ghost Ship like barnacles on a rusty hull. At times the film sits dead in the water while characters stand around updating each other on events we've already seen.

The acting is adequate, though the cast really doesn't face any challenges. They shout, curse, scream and run - and die.

Many plot points and events go unexplained. You'll be so confused by the open-ended wrap-up (I smell sequel) that you really won't give a darn.

Ghost Ship needs to be anchored in some video store's bargain bin where it can float with other worthless examples of cinematic detritus.

Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bbloom@journalandcourier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette. Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom

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X-RT-RatingText: 1/4