A SUB MOVIE WITH DEPTH !

Rating: Null/10 (16 January 2003)

I will admit that this cold war submarine movie is not a revelation and that it has been done in the past much better (see Das Boot, Hunt For Red October), however i will also admit that this is alot better than the rest of the crap floating around out there right now. This movie tells the story of the torture, pain, and grief a submarine crew had to...yes i said had to endure for the good of their country. The most horrifying thing about this whole movie is that it is a true story. A Russian nuclear submarine which can't even pass inspection is sent out to sea to test a missle. Once out at sea and submerged, a seal on the nuclear reactor aboard the sub breaks leaking radiation throughout the entire submarine. With the temperture rising and the chance of a Chernobyl-like nuclear disaster, Captain Alexi Vostrikov must decide whether to try and fix the reactor or give the submarine up to the americans. With no intentions of giving the submarine up, many crew members are lined up like lambs to a slaughter. They are informed of the gravity of the situation and told they will go in groups of two for no longer than 3 minutes at a time to try and reseal the reactor. When the first group of two come back out after three minutes of working on the reactor, only then do the rest of the men see first hand the disasterous effects of radiation poisoning. As time is running out and the entire crew is becoming infected by radiation, history changing decisions must be made...whew. Alexi Vostrikov is played by Harrison Ford and Mikhail Polenin is played by Liam Neeson. Talk about emotion, it was a pleasure watching these two screen greats battle each other. The russian accents were not as pleasurable. However do not let that deter you from viewing this taut, and tightly directed movie by Kathryn Bigelow. The acting as a whole was very good and convincing. I came away from this movie knowing two things....i never want to have to endure radiation poisoning, and it scares me to think just how far people will go for their country...whether its right or wrong.