I first saw this in the early 2k.

Revisited it recently.

The movie indeed looked as if the events are truly happening in an ocean experiencing a monstrous storm.

The star cast is amazing n all gave good performances.

Captain Billy Tyne (George Clooney) is struggling with a string of bad results. Others like Linda Greenlaw (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) are outfishing him. His crew is also struggling and they risk to go further than all the others. When their refrigeration goes, they either sit out the storms and lose their catch, or make a dash home through the Perfect Storm.

The drama isn't really there. We all know what's going to happen. Wolfgang Peterson doesn't really give us any surprises, but quite frankly, I don't think he had any surprises to give. The background family stories aren't anything imaginative. He probably should have treated this like other disaster movies. Get to the disaster and have some action fun. It takes too long to get to the disaster.

Fortunately I didn't know about the real story, because it would've spoiled the movie a bit for me. Which also means, I can't tell how people react to the movie who know the story and the outcome. Of course until that point, you never know how creatively free the filmmakers were or are with the facts surrounding something like that. But having great talent on board (no pun intended) helps a lot.

And by that I mean the actors mainly. The director also though, a German who is used to shoots "in the water" (as one of his best movies "Das Boot" showcases!). Mix that with pretty good special effects (especially for the time it was shot, it still looks good) and you have a really good drama/thriller on your hands.