Rating: 
Summary: My personal favorite
Review: I love this movie from beginning to end. It's action packed and doesn't miss a beat. By some strange stroke of coincidence, Crimson Tide also happened to be my high school mascot. Much props to this movie. Denzel at his finest! END
Rating: 
Summary: Hoovers the greasy tool!
Review: This movie sucks. It's a disservice to the men of the US Submarine Service. Let's look at what's wrong with this movie. Firstly we have Gene Hackman playing the gunger-than-ho submarine captain in a way that makes you think he prepared for this role by trying to channel George C. Scott from _Patton_. Cigar chomping, scenery-chewing aside the US Navy doesn't let guys who act like Gene Hackman did in this movie anywhere near nuclear weapons. I worked with three men who were former commanders of missile submarines and they were the polar opposites of Gene Hackman's character. Then we have the pseudo-dramatic tension of the conflict between Denzel Washington and Hackman over whether or not to launch the missiles, of course the problem with this bit of dramatic tension is that it's BS, one of the standing orders for nuclear launch is "when in doubt, don't." If you can't get a good authorization you don't just pull a wild hair out of your ass and decide to launch some missiles. Anyone who has a problem understanding this doesn't get near the nuclear missiles. People in the Navy have watched _Dr. Strangelove_ and know not to let people who don't understand this sort of thing near the nuclear missiles.
Rating:
Summary: High tension thriller
Review: Something about the world of the submarine lends itself to thrilling moviemaking. From "Das Boot" and "Run Silent, Run Deep" to "The Hunt for Red October," the blind, claustrophobic atmosphere of a wartime submarine at sea comes across very well."Crimson Tide" comes in ahead of those other movies because of the caliber of actors involved. Denzel Washington (the XO, Lt. Cdr. Hunter) and Gene Hackman (the CO, Capt. Ramsey) each give one of the better performances of their illustrious careers in this movie. Russian rebels have captured missile silos in the far eastern edge of that country. They then threaten to launch their missiles at the U.S. The U.S.S. Alabama, a ballistic missile submarine, is deployed to the western Pacific to possibly launch a pre-emptive strike on the rebels. After the Alabama arrives on station, its new orders are cut off before they can be confirmed. Lt. Cdr. Hunter wants to wait and confirm the new orders delaying the strike. Capt. Ramsey wants to follow the previous set of orders carrying out the strike. This sets up a confrontation and darn-near full-scale mutiny as the entire crew takes sides with either the XO or the Captain. The best scene of the movie is when the officers are gathered in the captain's mess. There is an interesting debate between the old-school captain and the youngblood XO about the nature of war, and whether it changes or not. Ramsey sums it up in this line to Hunter: "When Rickover gave me my command, they showed me a button. All I had to know was how to push it. They'd tell me when. They seem to want you to know why." The next best scene is after the entire operation is over. Capt. Ramsey and Lt. Cdr. Hunter face each other and salute, a young warrior saluting an old veteran, their disagreements in the past and their mutual respect coming through. I also give kudos to whoever is responsible for the scenes in the weapons room. The few lights reflecting the sweat on the weapons officer's face really elevated the tension towards the end of the movie. This movie will have you on the edge of your seat for over two hours. It will also cause you to think, especially about the vast changes our world has undergone in the past 10 years.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Film, but Missing DVD extras
Review: This is one of the best films about submarines that has been made, joining the classic Das Boot and The Hunt for Red October among many others. It's got two heavyweights in the lead roles - Gene Hackman as the Capitan of the USS Alabama and Denzel Washington has his First Officer. The depth of the acting talent goes far deeper than the two main characters, including 'before they were stars' roles for James Gandolfini (The Sopranos) and Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings).
The film is generally well directed, although the Hackman character mostly gets its shadings from comments made by others rather than seeing character himself show off his facets. This is not a major flaw, as the capitan is essentially a supporting character in a film told from Washington's point of view. The film does not get off to a good start with some corny text about the capitan of a nuclear missile submarine being as powerful as the President of the United States. After a few rough scenes, however, the film hits its stride as the crew go off to sea; director Tony Scott does an excellent job of keeping the plot moving, and there are enough twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. Even if you've seen the film 10 times, you will still feel the tension of the final scenes on board the submarine, a mark that the film is truly well directed.
The score by Hans Zimmer adds to the tension of the confrontation without being intrusive. It's nothing you'll be humming when you leave, but it is another solid piece of work from a veteran composer. Likewise, the way that the film is shot emphasizes the close quarters on board a submarine as well as any film in recent memory.
Besides the opening text, the main problem with the DVD is that there's basically nothing of interest on it besides foreign language tracks. This is unfortunate, as commentary by Hackman and Washington would probably be a classic for film students and aspiring actors to listen to. Overall, however, this is an excellent movie, particularly for those who like military action/drama films.
Rating:
Summary: Pulse pounding action
Review: Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman lit up the screen with their powerful, and intense, dislike of each other. While these two bicker about Navy regulations, a Russian sub seeks to blow them out of the water before they launch their missiles at Moscow. Which man is right? The Captain or the Executive Officer? You'll want to see this one again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Entertainment at its best
Review: I'm not in the Navy, and the portrayal of navy personnel may be innacurate. But this is a movie, not a documentary, and insofar as it is a movie it succeeds in doing everything a great movie must. It has drama, tension, suspense, and great acting. It is one of those rare movies you can watch over and over again and feel the same suspense you did the first time you saw it. Maybe some of the movie's ideas come from other older movies. But so what?! since when is that determinative of a movie's quality. Star Wars was influenced by all sorts of films, but those of us who grew up with it still managed to love it. This movie is entertainment, it isn't meant to be reality, so for those who have a problem with the fact that reality may have escaped this script perhaps they should try to simply be entertained by the movie as opposed to educated by it.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie
Review: Finally, a movie that makes you think.
Not a silly script. A real good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Final Proof that Hollywood Has Run out of Ideas
Review: If there is one thing I cannot abide, it is watching a movie I feel like I have seen ten times before. If you have ever seen Stanley Kubricks masterful Dr. Strangelove, do not bother with this piece of trash. We have the exact same problem Houston. The submarine takes damage after receiving an order to launch its missiles and cannot receive more recent orders that might possibly command it to stand down. It fills you with the same queasy feeling regarding nuclear warheads as Strangelove, only Slim Pickens was waaaay cooler than Hackman. So was George C. Scott, for that matter.
And yeah, the Amazon reviewer is right, The Caine Mutiny is also ripped off. As well as Mutiny on the Bounty and about five different Star Trek episodes (especially The Doomsday Machine- Vulcans never bluff).
At its absolute nadir, we find that the threat of nuclear war and different philosophies of the Captain and XO are not enough to create dramatic tension- there is actually a racial beef between the characters. In a scene probably written by Tarantino, we have Hackman telling Denzel how the best horses are from Portugal and they are white. To which Denzel replies they are black at birth. This is the famous Dennis Hopper / Chris Walken scene from True Romance redux except so much lamer. And that, dear reader, is what this flick is- a lame imitation of many other, better films.
Rating:
Summary: IT'S MUTINY MEN!
Review: Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman are superb as the antagonists in this typical Jerry Bruckheimer thriller. CRIMSON TIDE has obviously offended some of our naval heroes, and while I can understand their frustration at the misrepresentation, as a movie viewer who has never been on a submarine, all I was concerned with was the dramatic tension of the screenplay. Director Tony Scott keeps the action moving, which is something in itself, considering most of the action comes from the dialogue and the tense scenarios rather than slam bang knock em out action scenes. The supporting players, most notably Viggo Mortensen (pre Lord of the Rings), James Gandolfino (pre Sopranos), George Dzundza, Danny Nicci, Rick Schroeder, and even good old Jason Robards in the last scene.
This is tense, riveting and expertly acted...whether it's accurate isn't a concern of mine..I want to be entertained and I was.
Rating:
Summary: A JOKE
Review: I didn't think it was possible for there to exist a badly-made submarine movie, but I watched this and realized I was wrong. If you know anything about submarines, you'll not like this film very much. Examples? Ok, how about this: The boat (sub's are referred to as "boats" not "ships") is crippled by a torpedo explosion, and the Chief of the Boat announces to the XO (Denzel Washington),"forward ballast tanks damaged. we've lost forward air". The next moment, the boat's main propulsion plant is lost, and the sub is shown heading downward into the depths. Do they move the bow planes / fairwater planes or stern planes to use forward momentum to help the boat rise? NO. Do they blow after ballast (the after ballast tanks are presumably still operational)? NO. What do they do? They just ALL STAND THERE staring at the depth gauge, awaiting their arrival at "crush depth", the depth at which the surrounding pressure of the sea will be more than the pressure hull can withstand and the sub will implode and kill them all. But what saves them? Ah, someone in the Engine Room apparently flicks a switch to start the turbines again! "well, whaddya know, I've started the plant again!" Look, if you suffer an engineering casualty that causes the plant to be lost, chances are you're not going to be able to repair the cause in 5 minutes. Add to this the flimsy character development, the "musical chairs" Caine Mutiny - meets - Keystone Kops command changes, the contrived 'drama' - it's just not believable, folks.
So what to do? I recommend you rent, buy, or borrow "Das Boot" (or its very-well-dubbed version "The Boat"), come home and watch it. Immerse yourself in a real submarine drama. And deep-six this artificial-reef of a movie.
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