Kathryn Bigelow doesn't work enough as evidenced by this thought-provoking "entertainment"

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 2002)

I loved Bigelow's "Strange Days" not because it was flawlessly crafted but because it was intelligently and ambitiously crafted. The same is true here, although the subject matter makes for a less-than-exhilarating film experience compared to the action genre pacing of her previous works. Here, you have a complex character in Harrison Ford. An intelligent man who believes in his country, who is perhaps pushed to be an ultra-patriot by the shadow of his father, and yet who sees the bigger picture better than his "liberal" first officer (Liam Nielson) and, of course, his superiors. He makes mistakes and he makes the best decisions which those mistakes afford him. Decisions based on the big picture beyond the troubled sub. This is not "the Hunt for Red October." It is it's own film. Whereas, "October" had the cat-and-mouse game between men and the superpowers they represented, "K-19" is strictly told from the POV of the Soviets and the tension is borne by the differences between takes of ideology rather than differences of ideology. Everyone is a Soviet here---just to a greater or lesser degree. A wonderful character/ideological study. Kudos to all the actors and creative/production teams.