Factual error: The movie was set in 1991, but there is a newspaper with a Kia advertisement. Kia's first U.S. cars arrived in 1994.
The Perfect Storm (2000)
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Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, George Clooney, John C. Reilly, Diane Lane, William Fichtner, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Karen Allen
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More mistakes in The Perfect Storm
Dale 'Murph' Murphy: So, I guess you're the big hero, huh?
David 'Sully' Sullivan: You would have done the same for me. Isn't that what I'm supposed to say?
Dale 'Murph' Murphy: You can say what you want, but... I'm sure glad you know how to swim.
David 'Sully' Sullivan: Well, that's real big of you, Murph.
Dale 'Murph' Murphy: It's all I can manage right now. I'll work on it. All right?
Trivia: The film is accurate in its depiction of how the Perfect Storm actually formed (a combination of two weather fronts and one dying hurricane) except for the depiction of Hurricane Grace; in the film, it's stated to be a Category 5, while in reality, it was only a Category 2.
Question: Now I know this is based on a true story, but theoretically speaking: 1) Why did Bobby hold off gunning the engine until the very last second? If he'd have acted sooner then maybe the ship would have made it up the wave 2) Why not just slam her into reverse and wait for the wave to collapse? I mean, wouldn't that have been the safest bet?
Answer: I think you sort of answered your own question. I'd say at a guess he himself would have been wondering what the best action would be and in the end decided to go full throttle. Sadly, no-one will ever know the final moments aboard the Andrea Gail.
Answer: Not a ship captain, but will take a shot. If a massive wave is close to cresting, as I seem to recall in this scene, the boat would have to climb a near vertical wall of water and would likely be flipped back and upside down by the advancing wave. Perhaps he was planning to gun the engine to penetrate the wall of the wave, and bob to the surface after it passed. Reversing the engine would just let the thousands of tons of water in the breaking wave smash down on the boat, crushing it.