Brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (12 January 2004)

I love Harrison Ford's movies, but I have never seen one that I would say is brilliant until now. "Air Force One" was serious, but it was fun too. K-19 is different. From the first scene, I knew this would be a serious movie. The movie is based on actual events with, of course, dramatizations, for entertainment purposes. Liam Neeson is Captain Polenin, the Captain of a submarine. He is loved by his men and in a moment of tenseness, he chooses the safety of his men over the State. He is demoted to executive officer and a new captain takes over. Harrison Ford is the new Captain; Vostov. The two men don't get on from the beginning. Their styles are completely opposite. After tense training drills, the crew begins to form around it's new Captain, except one. Because the ship was sent to sea without being ready, machinery all over the ship begin to break down, including the reactor. Eight men die bringing the reactor back on line. Of course, the movie ends with the ship being saved and returning to port. But it really isn't a happy ending. A total of 28 men die from radiation poisoning which could have been prevented if the commanding generals had taken the warnings by Vostov and Polenin seriously.
The most impressive part of this movie for me was the performances of Neeson and Ford. Neeson has a reputation for fine preformances, but often Ford plays the fun action hero. In this film, it is obvious that Mr. Ford can hold his own. This film was well put together. Directing and editing were on line with the movement of the story. The music was outstanding. But it was the performances of Ford and Neeson that made this movie.

This movie was like a 7 course meal that, when it's over, you have to sit back and say, "Now, that was satisfying." This was a very satisfying movie and I do recommend it.