If this is the future of summer films, God help us all.

I'm a firm believer that the worst thing you can ever see at the beginning of a film is "Based on a True Story". And this movie is proof positive of that. So bad as to be laughable.

Let's fire up the scoreboard:
As for brief and clumsy introductions, the entire cast of the film is paraded out in the first twenty minutes of the film. The Andrea Gale rolls into shore, with a really bad catch, and the captain and crew just aren't going to make enough money on it. After which they proceed to go to the local fisherman's bar, and we're treated to what's supposed to pass for character development. What we learn is none of them are endearing or even interesting characters, and I go so far as to say that if you knew people like this in your real life, you would let the answering machine pick up. (You know exactly what I mean by that!)

After that tour de force of "acting" they decide to take their show back to the high seas, so they can make up what they lost. George Clooney, playing Batman, oops, I mean Captain Billy Tyne (the performance is about the same) is apparently some sort of psychic-fishing-jedi-master, who can "find the fish". His tired and typecast crew hop back on board for some fun in the water.

We're treated to about 40 minutes of what a crappy job being a fisherman is, and how passionate each man on board is about they're crappy job. Because: "To be good, you've got to love it." (No tired cliches here)

Finally, onto the storm. And our "heroes" attempt to brave it (because they're greedy). We get a tedious and over done rendition of them weathering the storm, one hundred percent Hollywood style. With the length of time we get to see the crewmen get soaked and blown around, you quickly get bored with it. Over an hour of waves, and wind. Yippee!

The only real upside to this movie (and the only reason this film didn't score lower) is the rescue team subplot. They deliver the only real drama in the film. Partly because you don't know they're fate, and partly because they performances are far more convincing than the leads.

The attempt to make this story into a Top Gun for fishermen, failed miserably. I didn't feel remorse as the ship sank. I felt relief. "Thank God this movie is over." Unfortunately I had to sit through the overly melodramatic eulogy delivered (poorly) by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who plays the captain of the Andrea Gales sister ship.

Dismal is all I can say about this movie.

If the Pentagon ever needs a new secret weapon of mass destruction, they can drop copies of this over enemy lines. "The Perfect Bomb" could level whole cities.