Review of Crimson Tide (1995) by Stuart K — 05 Aug 2013

Directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, who had had previous success a few years earlier with Days of Thunder (1990), they looked for something else to work on together, scripts came and went with Michael Schiffer's original screenplay about political turmoil and insubordination.

It's a very suspenseful film, and very taut considering it's claustrophobic setting, but it makes for good entertainment. There is political turmoil in the Russian Federation, post-Soviet militants, loyal to ultranationalist Vladimir Radchenko (Daniel von Bargen) have taken control of a nuclear facility, and threaten nuclear war against Russia and America.

On the USS Alabama, which is carrying nuclear missiles, Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter (Denzel Washington) has just joined the crew, serving as second in command under Captain Frank Ramsey (Gene Hackman).

After only a few days at sea, tensions grow between Hunter and Ramsey, and when Russian submarines, commandeered Radchenko comes into their vicinity, the trigger happy Ramsey wants to attack, but Hunter stages a mutiny to prevent a potential war.

It's a very tense film, but it has some good performances, and a good supporting cast including James Gandolfini, Steve Zahn and Viggo Mortensen. This is a great example of how good Scott was at creating tense thrillers.