Cliched as hell but a lot of fun(minor spoilers)

Rating: 6/10 (11 May 2000)

And let's face it, some people thrive on cliche. That's why some people liked The Phantom Menace. First of all, why do some people go into a theater with some type of baggage that prevents them from enjoying a movie? This movie is not trying to be like Das Boot, and screw the liberal use of artistic license to rewrite history. Okay, people are entitled to those opinions, and maybe I'm in the minority by watching a movie at face value, but that's the way I watch a movie. I rate a movie by how well it kept me engaged, how well it did its job, how well it kept me from looking at my watch. This movie did all that extremely well. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, and I couldn't tell you how many times I flinched. Not all movies are going to be about plot twists, intrigue, and character development. Considering this movie throws all the political intrigue out the window and says, "Let's blow $#!T up.", of course it's not going to be an intelligent movie. It's going to be a movie that's supposed to keep you breathless from the suspense and danger, and this movie did that very well for me. Some of things done to keep the suspense were cheap shots, but everything was still fun. And speaking of character development, this movie didn't have one hero hogging the spotlight. Watching the teamwork involved in operating an old sub and surviving the situation was enough to make me think that everybody was real and that everybody was a hero. Heck, I even found myself asking "What happened to Trigger?" I even teared up as the proud military score played at the end, and the characters watched that fine ship sink to the bottom. Call me silly, but it was that good, and I cared that much about the characters. Enjoy the movie.