SUPERB STUDY IN COMMAND - Not Just another "Submarine Movie".

Rating: 9/10 (19 July 2002)

Any reviewer who sees this fine film - and great character study - as merely "another submarine movie" is braindead. The location happens to be on a submarine, but "K-19" is in fact a marvelous study of the problems of command, its responsibilities, and the ongoing struggle between the new captain's methods and those of the former captain whom he replaced. It is their battle of styles and personalities that makes this movie a great success.
This film depicts (and dramatizes) an historic event, for decades kept secret until the end of the Soviet Union. So I don't believe there are SPOILERS BELOW, but there might be.
The date is 1961 - the height of the Cold War - and the Soviet Union has launched its first nuclear-powered submarine complete with an unarmed ICBM. The purpose is to show the Americans the Soviet's nuclear capability by launching the test missile from the Arctic ice cap, thus making a first strike on "The Motherland" less likely. It is another step in the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction.
Captain Polenin (Liam Neeson) of this new K-19 submarine is pushed down a notch in the chain of command when an electric circuit fails during a test firing and he is rather arrogant with the resident admiral observing. Polenin becomes Executive Officer and Captain Vostrikov (Harrison Ford) is appointed to command the boat - a vessel already plagued with bad luck and construction deaths; hence, the nickname "The Widowmaker".
Vostrikov is under strict orders to complete his mission (the test firing) on schedule which the Soviet high command is pushing to have completed as soon as possible. The problem with this, a fatal flaw. is that hurrying the mission has resulted in shoddy workmanship on various ship components; they don't even have radiation suits in case of a nuclear accident the ship carrying only useless chemical suits.
Vostrikov (Ford) takes over the boat to some resentment by the crew, especially the officers, who favored Polenin (Neeson). The drills that Vostrikov immediately begins clearly shows the crew is unready, with some of the drills looking highly inept and chaotic - a bad reflection on Polenin. Vostrikov continues to push the crew despite injuries and even more resentment, a near-crisis comes when K-19 is ordered to dive to 300 meters (near crush depth) and then it emergency surfaces crashing right through the Arctic ice, at which point Vostrikov immediately, and successfully, launches the missile.
Throughout all of this Polenin advised against what Vostrikov was doing, even to the point of leaving his post in a huff and later berating Vostrikov for endangering the crew. Accurately, the captain tells his XO the men had to be pushed to the limit not only to see what they could do but to, in effect, mold them into a stronger crew ready to die as needed in the future. Their camaraderie while playing on the polar ice is indication of this.
Vostrikov, whom someone I read stupidly compared to "Capt. Bligh", was right, and Polenin, whose crew was so sloppy in drills, was mostly wrong. But there is more to this.
Vostrikov's father was both a Soviet hero - and a prisoner in the GULAG. Perhaps as such, he has always made special efforts to be totally loyal to his country and the Party. That blind loyalty will eventually be tested by the disaster about to befall K-19, a situation where the humanity and flexibility of Polenin will be found to be more than appropriate.
The boat's nuclear reactor's coolant suddenly develops a leak and fails. Despite what we heard in the film there was no real danger of "a thermonuclear explosion"; there WAS a danger of the core melting right through the hull and likely exploding as it hit the cold water. The movie's attempts to suggest that there would a nuclear explosion and possible war between the U.S. and Soviet Union were strained. Polenin's emotionalism hits bottom when he foolishly blames Vostrikov for this disaster for having ordered the former reactor officer off the ship for being drunk on duty.
Vostrikov now is confronted by the horrid reality: there is no way to save the submarine and crew and avoid nuclear core meltdown without repairing the reactor coolant - and to do this sailors have to enter the radiation-filled chamber wearing nothing more than useless chemical suits. Heroically, they do, and more heroically others also do even after seeing the first repair crew leave the reactor deathly sick and vomiting. Only the new young reactor officer balks at entering this chamber of death, although he redeems himself later with great bravery. We fairly well knew he would succumb having seen him earlier kiss his fiance good-by.
K-19, the reactor in no immediate danger of meltdown but now filled with radiation, is forced to surface, and Vostrikov initially resists all suggestions from Polenin and others to evacuate the boat, or request assistance from the Americans who have seen the submarine. At this point, one of Polenin's officers, and even the commissar (political officer) stage mutiny and seize the vessel from Vostrikov at gunpoint. That is the same commissar who ironically earlier indoctrinated the crew with anti-American propaganda.
Polenin refuses to take command and puts down the mutiny. There seems little doubt now that he now understood better the loyalty and devotion to duty of Vostrikov, and how effective and cool in the crisis the captain was. Vostrikov, on the other hand, better recognizes the need to appeal to the humanity of the crew, and shows his own humanity by seeing to it K-19's sick crew is evacuated to another Soviet sub despite orders to the contrary.
Vostrikov and Polenin have finally reached a mutual understanding as they finally recognize and respect each other's views and methods.Together they were better than either could have been individually. The final scene twenty-eight years later at the graves of those sailors who died saving the sub and their crewmates was moving indeed.
Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson were excellent both separately and in their chemistry. Comments by some about their accents not being adequate are trivial, although Sean Connery's was better "Hunt for Red October". The rest of the cast, though no-name, was also fine. Kathryn Bigelow's direction is quite suitable and good, although it doesn't take a genius to figure out how to use moving cameras, quick cuts, and dramatic closeups aboard a submarine to great effect; there are enough submarine films out there already to supply examples.
One of those films, "Crimson Tide", depicts a different sort of power struggle between the senior captain and the new XO over nuclear launch protocol. That is entirely different than the more subtle struggle in "K-19" which I found fascinating.
The sets are suitably grimy and dark to depict a Soviet sub in 1961 that does not even appear to be very well made or especially advanced technologically. The danger of something going wrong on K-19 always seems probable.
"K-19" is an intelligent film and I found it absorbing. It is not a puerile exercise in special effects. The relationship between Vostrikov and Polenin was simply compelling. A wonderful movie.