Crimson Tide

Rating:
Summary: Special edition?
Review: Where is the special edition? why is it taking so long for it? It is already on the european market. please release it soon this is one of the best submarine warfare movies of all time.

Rating:
Summary: The first bit is okay the rest is silly
Review: I thought the start of the movie was quite good. Seemed like quite a decent plot. Then it just got silly.

Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Tension Movie
Review: Surprisingly the most worrying thing about this movie comes at the end when it tells us that from 1996 onwards the key to launching Nuclear weapons no longer resides with the Commander of a U.S. nuclear submarine but with the President of the United States. Given that Bush is in power that should be enough to scare the living Jesus out of anyone and maybe the Hackman's of the world should be given back the responsibility as long there is a Washington beside him who is ready to turn around say "King Kong ain't got nothin' on me!"

Not since John Carpenter's "The Thing" has there been a damn fine movie about paranoia and tension. Crimson Tide does all that in aces and then some more. Basically the premise is about a Commander and an XO of a nuclear submarine that are given orders to set sail and be prepared for EAMs (Emergency Action Messages) that will tell them if and when they should launch the Big One. One action message tells them to launch. The second is scrambled beyond all recognition. This leads to a standoff between the Commander and the XO and a crew split over whose orders they should follow.

So basically it is high-octane ping pong as the two commanders go back and forth, debating what they should do, putting guns to each others head, dodging torpedoes and generally trying to toe the official navy line while at the same time breaking all the rules in the book. The script is good except for some inappropriate references to Star Trek but all the actors do a good job with the roles they are given and Hackman performs to the point where we remember again why he is A-list material. Washington is on form and makes a good piece of opposition, but can not prevent the Hack from walking circles around him. Today however it is the opposite way around which shows how talent is something that may not be perpetual.

You can not go too far wrong with this one. Sure it is all USA! USA! with lots of melodrama and crew members patting each other's backs right up until the "all is forgiven" finale but then again we can give the movie its token gestures for coming up with a simple idea done exceptionally well. This is not "Das Boot" but it transcends "U-751" and "The Sum of All Fears" and also gives us much more edge of your seat stuff than "The Hunt from Red October".

It's all good whatever way you cook it and certainly ownership of DVD Hackman powerhouse performing is nothing to be ashamed about.

Rating:
Summary: Pathetic...to say the least
Review: First of all, no I'm not in the Navy, I'm in the Army. This movie is a typical hollywood peice of s***. Denzel Washington is a goody goody officer straight out of the academy and makes me sick when he committed mutiny.

With the exception of 5 or 6 people on that ship, everyone was a god damn cowboy. Yeah, lets just all disobey orders and base our actions on OUR personal beliefs. When your in the military, you follow your damn orders, or people die. Yeah you can be a rebel and not follow orders, if you think it's "wrong." Go ahead and take it up with your CO, they'll show your communist ass where the door is.

I love how all the prior service guys rated this crappy, because it is crap, and how all the "top 100" reviewer hippys raved over the communist trash. Shows what the hell they know.

Rating:
Summary: Great sub movie!
Review: This was the first sub movie I ever saw and I loved it! Gene Hackman was great as always and Denzel was fantastic as the Alabama's XO. The story was quite interesting however it intrigues me to read the book because I know there is stuff that they must have left out of the movie. I saw this in the theatre and that was awesome in itself because Hans Zimmer did such a fine job with the music and the sounds of the ship were all around you. If you want something entertaining without loading down with "naval stuff" see this. You'll enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: tense sub-drama is first rate thriller
Review: Gene Hackman and Wesley Snipe play a game of chess in a power struggle that has the fate of the world in the balance. Denzel Washington is Lt. Cmdr. Ron Hunter, the new XO on a nuclear sub The Crimson Tide, Captained by Capt. Frank Ramsey, Gene Hackman in another typically strong and dis-likable performance. Gene's character is arrogant, slightly redneck, got-there-the-hard-way subdriver and has overbearing manner, right down to an irritating little dog named Jack Daniels. He is slightly intimidated by Denzel's highly education, got there by hard study, and naturally tries to deny this - even to himself - but the personality clash is going to happen.

They receive a properly formatted flash action message saying, they must launch their missiles against Russia, and before the message can authenticate it the radio goes down. Gung Ho, slightly power-mad, Gene Hackman, believe is orders to the letter. In this case, in lack of confirmation they are directed to launch to prevent a first attack against US. Denzel, a less war-minded officer, prefers to wait for a bit to confirm before signing the death warrant on the world. And he is willing to back this by taking over command of the ship. Naturally, Hackman is not taking that and fights back.

In the middle of this struggle, is Weps (Yeppers, Aragon in a buzz cut!!). Viggo Mortensen's character, Lt. Peter 'Weps' Ince, respects both men. He is friends with Denzel, but he has served together with Hackman as more will to work with him.
His character is torn by friends and chain of command, plus his own worry and conscience about the effect upon his family.

Good Support from George Dzundza; Nice cameo at the end by Jason Robards.

Well written, acted and strongly paced.

Rating:
Summary: This movie is crimson
Review: Crimson Tide is a high adrenaline drama, with a solid cast, and a terrific and engaging plot. Probably the best submarine movie since Hunt for the Red October, Crimson Tide does everything it can to create instant suspense and interest in this movie and it succeeds. The movie stars Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman, who play off each other brilliantly.

Washington plays Hunter, the Executive Officer (Exo) of the submarine U.S.S. Alabama. Hunter is the play it straight, humble but serious, follow the rules kind of officer. Hunter follows his conscience and what he knows is right, and is not easily persuaded. This is the trademark character of almost every character Washington plays, with the exception of his role in Training Day.

Hackman plays Capt. Ramsey, the hard-nosed, bull-headed, confrontational captain of the very same submarine. Ramsey doesn't believe in advice or even his conscience, just his orders and making no exceptions. Hackman, whose personna often comes across as arrogant and head strong, is a the exact kind of actor one would want for this part.

As noticed, Ramsey and Hunter are almost opposites, which leads us to the conflict of characters. It's analogy can be described as hot air and cold air mixing...and one should know what that forms. This is picked up very early in the film, when Ramsey is interviewing Hunter to be his next Exo.
This was the signal that Ramsey is not easily impressed nor does he truly think highly of Hunter. A problem that does not go away throughout the film.

The plot is a little complicated, but it can be summarized. Basically, it's about Russian rebels who seize Russian warheads. These rebels then begin making threats towards America and Japan. Enter the US Navy, deploying it's nuke subs all across the world to be prepared to launch if needed. The U.S.S. Alabama is among them.

I think this is a terrific plot and I think the movie did an admirable job in attempting to make it appear real or quite very possible. They did this by including live footage (obviously from other wars), interviews with the madman or leader of the rebels, and creating a series of events that quite possibly could occur. I was really impressed with how they did all this in the beginning of the movie, so we all got a sense of what the movie was going to be about.

Unfortunately, I'm not all that impressed with some of the criticism given to this film from fellow reviewers. The biggest gripe is that this film does not portray submariners accurately, that the way they acted is not possible and it's a slap in the face to our Navy. Look, I have no doubt that there are inaccuracies in how Navy personel are "supposed" to act or how submarine life persists. But that doesn't mean it's a slap. It just means it isn't portrayed accurately.

Not to mention, this criticism is over-blown and it isn't what the movie is about. I think people who get all upset over this film, as far as the portrayal of submariners, need to get a grip. This film is about two things that not even the US Navy is immune to: human judgment and human error. In order for that concept to be applied in this sense, you can't have all the submariners acting all perfect and do nothing wrong and create no conflicts on board. This is a drama. That stuff must occur otherwise it's a boring movie. So wake up, get off your high horse, and just enjoy the movie. The movie is about a broader scope than the portrayal of our Navy. The movie is about the possible break down of our system, the break down of officers, and the forever curse of human misjudgment.

This film will make you think, and that's what I like about it. You're entertained and you think about this movie during and after you see it. This movie was made to create drama at the ultimate expense in the worst of times. So if you want to see what I consider the best submarine movie out there, go see Crimson Tide.

Grade: A-

Rating:
Summary: Crimson Tide - A surefire gripping thriller!
Review: "Crimson Tide" is certainly one of the most gripping and thrilling submarine films to have been released in several years. From the intriguing initial opening moments of this submarine classic to the most suspenseful and tense moments of character conflict, this film will have you on the edge of your seat, whether it's the first or tenth time you've watched it. I personally try to watch this film at least once a year as it can easily be said that this is one of my favorite movies from this genre.

It is truly quite scary to think that there is even the most "remote" possibility that something like this could ever occur on a missile boat. Given the power that just one of these submarines has, they could hold the world's population in the palm of their hands.

The power of this film not only comes from the power of the extraordinary script but lies solely with the superb performance of the lead characters. Whenever a tough and true grit role is to be had, Gene Hackman is the one to call as this role seems to have been written specifically for him. Though not quite the villain of the film, he's not quite the hero either, his character of Captain Ramsey represents the old Navy and the "way things were." In the role of the younger and extremely well educated Executive Officer, Lieutenant Commander Hunter, is Denzel Washington representing the new Navy as he delivers another extraordinarily powerful performance. In my humble opinion, this role represents one of his best efforts out of all the great performances he's given in so many films over the years.

One may also wish to take note of some of the other characters and the level of fame they've risen to since making "Crimson Tide" in 1995. Most notable are Viggo Mortensen of "Lord of the Rings" fame and a much thinner James Gandolfini of "The Soprano's" fame.

Director Tony Scott deserves all the credit in the world for the perfection that is, "Crimson Tide" and the way in which he put this outstanding film together.

In the past, I've watched films of this nature where the soundtrack just didn't seem to "go" with the film. That is certainly not the case here, the soundtrack is "right on" with the action sequences and serves beautifully to enhance every scene in the film.

The premise:

In the realm of "possible predictabilities," a post Soviet Union, Russia is facing a possible civil war where one of the prominent leaders has broken away from the central Russian government. Many forces have allied behind him and he has seized a base that houses, of all things, nuclear weapons and has threatened launch if he is openly opposed by Allied forces. Fearing that this "madman" may actually get hold of the launch codes for these weapons, the NCA (National Command Authority or President for short) has decided to emplace nuclear submarines and hopefully preempt this Russian rebel if he does get hold of the launch codes and launches. Not to mention the fact that the Russian rebel leader has also gained the support of a submarine base and has put to sea several Akula class attack submarines.

We learn most of that within the first few minutes of the film and this thrilling gripper of a movie "actually" kicks off when the USS Alabama and her crew put to sea, heading for their assigned patrol/launch area. All the while, Captain Ramsey is testing his new Executive Officer, Lt. Commander Hunter. Once the Alabama reaches her assigned station, they find themselves in very close quarters with one of the Russian Akula class submarines. Concurrently, they also receive a flash message to go to DEFCON 2 and launch several "packages." While preparing the submarine and its missiles for launch, they go deeper and on their way down, they start to receive another message. Unfortunately, they go too deep and don't receive the entire message. Here is where the major conflict begins because the Executive Officer wishes to confirm the orders and the Captain chooses not to and continues to prepare to launch.

What follows from there is, as stated above, one of the most gripping submarine stories to ever grace the silver screen. I highly recommend this film to any and all fans of this genre as you will certainly enjoy every aspect of it. {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

Here is where I have a "bone of contention" with the producers of this film. There are exactly "zero" special features with this film, not even a trailer. Given this films popularity and success, it is extraordinarily perplexing as to why there has been no Special Edition release or anything of that nature. In the end it matters not though, the most important thing here is the film!

Rating:
Summary: Tide Scores on Excitement, Misses on Plot
Review: The best thing about Crimson Tide is the interplay between Ramsey and Hunter (Hackman and Denzel). It's informed, rational even in its emotionalism, and tightly written. There's also a dose of realism in the detail of the sub's operation, which looks just as it was shown on a recent C-Span visit to a Nuclear boomer. (It should be as two ex-captains of the real USS Alabama served as tech advisors.)

The movie breaks down on key plot points. Any major ops order requires radio acknowledgement back to HQ just to be sure it was heard, and you can bet an order CANCELLING a nuclear launch would get noticed if not acknowledged. The Navy would do everything including skywriting to tell the sub to back off. There are also various forms of radios on board, not just one.

The crisis is paced on watching the renegade Russians fuel to launch. No major power has used liquid fueled missles strategically for decades. What's more, if Ramsey had launched in error, the targets would be the rebel-held areas. The legit govt might applaud the action, not just fail to retaliate for total nuclear annihilation.

Finally, what happens to Hunter for leading the mutiny/takeover is totally unreal, IMO.

Still, all this aside, the movie is exciting to watch and raises some legit questions about what would happen in the case of ambiguous orders, common in the "fog of war." Hopefully the real Defense Dept is thinking about this even as we do.

Rating:
Summary: Give me a break!
Review: First of all, Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington are two of my favorite actors. That said, as an ex-submariner I found this movie to be absolutely laughable and an insult to those of us who have served in the "Silent Service". Yes, it does raise some interesting questions, especially at the end, but the way it was done did nothing to give most people anything resembling the workings of an American nuclear submarine. I can only hope someone will get it right one of these days.