Out to sea

Rating: 6/10 (21 October 2014)

Kathryn Bigelow known for action films at the time goes for more drama in K-19, based on true events.
During the Cold War era of the early 1960s, the Russian unveil their flagship nuclear submarine but it seems the launch is premature with not enough testing and even safety equipment.
Harrison Ford is Captain Alexei Vostrikov, brought in as a troubleshooter, a man who gets things done to replace the more popular Mikhail Polenin (Liam Neeson) now demoted as Executive Officer. This leads to tension between the two as Ford seems to care more getting the sub more ship shape at the expense of the safety of the crew.
Things take a turn for the worse as the nuclear reactor leaks and without adequate medication and safety suits, the crew members risk life and limb to save the sub.
Submarine films such as this tend to be heavy going. The Hunt for Red October which came out in the early 1990s had a lot of tension and drama to alleviate this. Here things begin slowly as we see the politicians and the military chiefs wanting a show of strength from their new submarine and Ford getting to grips with a crew not quite ready and cursed with bad luck.
The sub is well realised. Since the end of the cold war, a few Russian subs can be visited in museums such as San Diego for example and they really are claustrophobic and narrow.
Once the sub starts to leak, the action cranks up, as some sailors risk their own lives to enter the leaking chamber, while Ford and Neeson clash as to whether to get help from the Americans. However the film is long and plodding in places.