Review of The Hunt for Red October (1990) by Filipeneto — 16 Jun 2018

This film portrays the defection of a group of Russian naval officers who move to the American side of the Cold War aboard one of the most powerful Soviet submarines. However, neither the Russians nor the Americans know the intentions of Commander Ramius, which triggers a hunt to sink or capture the missing submarine.

It's definitely one of the best submarine movies ever, not so much for authenticity (which is none) but for story telling and action. The film quickly catches our attention and only drops at the end. It quickly creates a pleasant tension that never exceeds desirable limits and keeps us interested in what we are watching.

Sean Connery is impeccable as usual, achieving in this film one of the most memorable performances of his career (if we did not count his participation in the 007 saga). The actor knows how to dominate the film without stealing too much the scene of the colleagues, standing out at the appropriate times.

Alec Baldwin was also well on his character, as well as most of the actors involved in the film, and it is full of well-known stars (Sam Neill, James Earl Jones, Tim Curry or Stellan Skarsgård are good examples).

Visually, it is elaborate and well made, with good cinematography and discrete but effective visual and special effects.