Good and underrated basically because of its subject film

Rating: 8/10 (19 March 2003)

To my great surprise this film is not another American stupid film about Russians. The story is mostly based on a real events and the filmmakers managed to create very impressive and mostly authentic atmosphere of that period. Certainly they have made some plot changes and added reasonable dramatic elements to the story but I can't blame them for that. This is Hollywood, not a documentary. The acting is quite a good with two terrific leading performances by Harrison Ford (best his performance for last several years) and Liam Neeson. The movie is beautifully shot including the underwater shooting and the nice soundtrack is very suitable.
For me as a Russian K-19 is one of the best Hollywood's movies about the cold war time and Russians. But the problem is that the movie's subject is not much appealing for American viewers, who from inside could find it just another boring and uninteresting submarine movie. But K-19 is much more than that. Worth seeing.
8 of 10