Rating: 
Summary: Grim tale of a Russian sub, wonderfully acted
Review: I had some problems with this film. Not the whines about historical inaccuracy (you are preaching to the choir since I love history), because I have long ago stopped expecting anything too accurate to come out of Hollywood. Not the American actors playing Russians - hey get real. Hollywood is going for BIG NAME to sell the tickets. Had they staffed the roles with lesser-known Russian actors would the film have even gotten more than passing notice?What I had problems with - I was unable to distance myself from the grim realities of the film by saying at the back of my head - it's only fiction. Accurate or not, this the depicts a tragic accident based on truth that was officially suppressed for 28 years. Set at the height of the Cold War Between Russian and US, Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson deliver intense performances as the command of the Soviet nuclear submarine K-19. An exposed reactor core nearly resulted in a nuclear catastrophe for the men aboard the K-19 and the world around them. As the core is breached, the men must be sent in time and again - all knowing they are being sent to their deaths. Gradually, the struggle between Ford and Neeson sees the crew escalating to near-mutiny (can you blame them?), with Ford struggling to retain command. Kathryn Bigelow as director has a fine sense of pace and how to spiral the tension, proving she is able stand toe to toe with male directors of this genre. It's just not an easy film to watch, to see those poor lads going in to death, sacrificing themselves for the sake of other.
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