Review of The Hunt for Red October (1990) by Keaton E — 23 Feb 2015

I've always had a fondness for submarine movies, and I think that originated with this film. The Hunt for Red October is not a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination, but what it does well is create amazingly entertaining and tense moments. It challenges the viewer to actually use their brains and think, something we are seldom tasked with in modern movies, so I love it for that. While Harrison Ford is obviously the best Jack Ryan we've ever seen on film, I think Alec Baldwin does justice to the part. I like the way he plays the internal conflict over his desire to do the right thing, but wishing he didn't have to actually enter the fray himself. Sean Connery, of course, classes up the whole film and lends a lot of gravitas to the Russians in the story. He is just crazy enough that you can see why people question if he is honestly on the same page with the rest of his conspirators. And we could just keep rolling down this cast list and find one amazing actor after the next including Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones, Tim Curry, and more. Any complaints about this movie should never include the acting performances, because they are absolutely awesome.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of this film is one of the most insignificant, yet really well-done moments. Early on everyone on the Red October is speaking in Russian with subtitles. Then in one scene they do a slow zoom on a character's mouth and he transitions to English. It is one of the most subtle and interesting ways I've ever seen a movie get around the need for subtitles for large portions of the film while still helping the audience understand they didn't really stop speaking Russian. The biggest downfall of The Hunt for Red October is that the pace is a bit slow, because there are a lot of conversations and debates that are common in this kind of political/war thriller. I, personally, am able to remain engaged because I am fully invested in the characters but this can be a stumbling block for a lot of viewers. It is particularly noticeable because the run-time is a bit long for a movie of this type. I'm sure there's some moments they could have cut out, or at least cut back on, but I wonder if it would lose some of the intrigue. While The Hunt for Red October is not one of my favorite films, it is one that I've always enjoyed and I expect I'll always hav.