Trainwreck: Poop Cruise Review
Director: James Ross
Date Created: 2025-06-24 19:56
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Trainwreck: Poop Cruise Review: The new entrant to Netflix’s Trainwreck anthology documentary series is directed by James Ross. As was the case with its predecessors (Trainwreck: Astroworld and Trainwreck: Mayor of Mayhem), the movie dives headfirst into a real disaster that went horribly wrong. At less than an hour, this self-contained documentary recaps the 2013 catastrophe aboard the Carnival Triumph — an ordeal that began as what was supposed to be a relaxed four-day cruise from Galveston, Tex., to Cozumel, Mexico, that would end up being one of the most jaw-dropping and nauseating tales of shipwreck in recent memory.
From survivors’ testimony, news accounts and appalling video taken by passengers themselves, Ross gives a picture of indiscriminate, desperate, even criminal irresponsibility on the high seas.
Trainwreck: Poop Cruise Review
I was sceptical about this documentary before. I’d heard of the infamous “Poop Cruise” years ago reflex decongestant sale somewhere, but wasn’t sure if it was a good story to revisit documentary-fashion, all at once and in sumptuous detail. But to my great surprise, Netflix’s Trainwreck: Poop Cruise is more than a gross-out: it’s a spare, disturbing account of what can go wrong when human systems (both the technical and social types) fail.
What struck me immediately was the pace of the film. It’s all so benign initially, so much like a commercial for an illustrated cruise. There are passengers who are ecstatic, they report, over the all-you-can-eat buffets, live shows, and the enticeÂment of being off the grid. But it’s all playing a role — the relaxed amiability before the actual and figurative tempest. The vessel is abandoned dead in the water following an engine room blaze crippling the power of the ship and leaving its plumbing and ventilation unusable, alerts the world to how long they will be stranded. And it all goes to hell after that.
If you are looking for a serious or nuanced documentary, this isn’t it. Ross leaves nothing out — raw sewage, clogged toilets, wet carpeting, the smell of rot. I winced, literally, at some points there, I admit. But that’s not really a negative thing. It does because of the manner in which it rams home the absurdity of it all. As a viewer, you’re not just watching it — you’re smelling it, sweating out the moment with the passengers as they go from boredom to hysteria to rage.
One thing I did enjoy about the documentary was the presence of personal footage. The wobbly videos, the blurred photos, the panicky voice recordings — they all bring it up close and frightening. This is not a staged re-creation, with actors and sets. They were actual people, stranded on a drifting hellworld. In interviews, some of them angry, some still traumatised, their stories give a raw and, at times, heartbreaking glimpse of how quickly a fantasy holiday can turn into survival.
The film’s structure felt formulaic, as in a disaster movie ticking along to expected beats. It begins well, derails, careens out of control, gives false hope and then concludes with a last-gasp effort culminating in the resolution. It’s a clever trick in a fiction exercise, but to me it did feel like it undercut the real human misery at stake. The documentary also occasionally flirted with being an honest inquiry and more of a shock doc.
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But worst of all, what upset me more than the decision to sell was that no one was held accountable. While more than 4,000 people endured this nightmare on the Carnival Cruise Line’s behalf, the company escaped scot-free, literally. No lawsuits, no reform, no official public apology. That’s where the documentary succeeds in hitting a nerve. We’re not seeing a plumbing malfunction — we’re seeing a systemic malfunction in which profit is put ahead of people’s health. And that corporate responsibility infuriated me.
As harrowing as it was to sit through, I have to say that Trainwreck Poop Cruise documentary is decent. It’s very direct in its point. It’s disgusting and it’s revolting and, above all, it makes you question the next time you reserve a cruise. It questions disaster readiness, questions the manner in which individuals behave when faced with disaster, and questions the frightening readiness with which corporations can absolve themselves of disaster.
Netflix Trainwreck Poop Cruise Review: Summing Up
But would I call it a “must-watch”? No. It’s not the movie you go back to or force on anyone in hopes of finding depth or even sophistication. It’s raw, a bit more than sensationalised, and sometimes heavy-handed with the gross-out. But I can’t quite shut it out as a show-off — in a crowded documentary environment, that’s something. Overall, documentary Trainwreck: Poop Cruise is entertaining but also thoroughly bizarre occurrence that really shouldn’t have occurred — and shouldn’t be allowed to slip away. It won’t change the world, but it shifted my opinion on cruise ships, at least in water-filled days to come.
