I am not a big fan of submarine films. I avoid
them like I do a Trump victory speech. There are I am told some great ones
- but I just don't want to watch them. I get all sweaty, nervous, nauseous
and claustrophobic watching one and if I was in a submarine miles down I
would last for a day before I was screaming to get off. But I have been watching
a few Sean Connery films the last week and am surprised at the ones that
I missed. I seem to have a big blank film hole in the 1980's into the 90's.
Maybe I was busy with life. But not now, so it is great to catch up with
these. Connery made some quality entertaining diverse films. He refused to
be typecast but at the same time he has such a commanding presence in these
films I have seen in which he just has an aura of authority that surrounds
him. He could not escape that. I think he gained it as he got older. Nowhere
more so than in this film as a Russian captain of a submarine. He oozes so
much charisma that you would follow him anywhere. To America if need be.
This was such a good film with a terrific cast at every level and it kept
me on edge through the entire movie. You might guess where you think this
will end up but you can't be sure. It also keeps up the tension and the narrative
by switching back and forth to three different strands till it brings them
all together in a highly satisfying whole. Based on a Tom Clancy novel who
knows how to write an engrossing page turning story. This has that feel to
it.
It begins with the launch of a new type of submarine with new technology
that makes it run perfectly silent. Or so they think. It is the Red October
and it is being captained by a legend in the Russian navy - Ramius (Sean
Connery). He has a plan - he wants to defect along with a group of his officers,
one who is a good friend (Sam Neill). But he has to keep his plan secret
from his other men and the KGB who are likely on his ship. Before he left,
he sent a letter to the high command telling them what he intends to do.
The entire Russian navy is sent to kill him. In another track CIA analyst
Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) who I had no idea was a character in this - many
more films and TV to go - figures out what Ramius might be up to and tries
to persuade his boss (James Earl Jones). And a third track appears in the
form of an American sub captained by Mancuso (Scott frigging Glenn). Like
I said, a great cast. More machismo between those four than in a score of
action films.
So we have the Russians after him, the American navy is ordered to blow him
up because the Russians have convinced them that Raimus is crazy and intends
to target American cities with nukes and Ryan is trying to stop them to see
if his hunch is right. Ramius just stays super cool calm fending off saboteurs
and torpedoes. Wonderfully paced and directed by John McTiernan (two Die
Hard movies and Predator). A few others in the cast are Tim Curry, Richard
Jordan, Peter Firth, Fred Thompson and Stellan Skarsgård. I still have
no desire to watch any other submarine films, but this one was great fun.
