K-19: The Widowmaker

Rating: 4/10 (8 October 2010)

I knew the two leadings stars, and then I saw how many stars the critics had given it, that wasn't going stop me watching it, I just wanted to see why only two, from director Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, The Hurt Locker). Basically this is the true story of the USSR's first flagship nuclear ballistic submarine, on its maiden voyage in the North Atlantic in 1961, during the Cold War. Heading the crew is the uneasy Capt. Alexei Vostrikov (Harrison Ford) and his more popular executive officer Capt. Mikhail Polenin (Liam Neeson). After the completion, there is a sign that things could go wrong when the launching champagne bottle doesn't break, this is apparently a curse. This submarine is launched, and things seem alright for a while, the crew are getting tired by the many drills they have to do to reenact an emergency situation. Soon enough a real emergency reveals itself when there is a malfunction in the form of a leak in the nuclear reactor system, and the whole crew are working hard to fix it before a disaster occurs. It does look like the problem is fixed, but then the same problem happens again, and Polelnin and the crew finally have had enough and stops Captain Vostrikov from creating more stress. Don't worry, the problem is fixed and the crew do eventually get the help they need, and there is a reunion many years later with the surviving crew members, including Vostrikov and Polenin. Also starring Peter Sarsgaard as Lt. Vadim Radtchinko, Joss Ackland as Marshal Zelentsov, John Shrapnel as Admiral Bratyeev, Donald Sumpter as Dr. Gennadi Savran, Tim Woodward as Partonov and Johnny English's Steve Nicolson as Demichev. Ford does okay as the sub's leader, Neeson puts on an accent reminding us of Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, the supporting cast are alright, and the film has its moments of thrills, but overall, it's not much of an action thriller. Okay!