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Captain Marko Ramius: Sean Connery Dr. Jack Ryan: Alec Baldwin Captain Bart Mancuso: Scott Glenn Captain Vasily Borodin: Sam Neill Admiral James Greer: James Earl Jones Ambassador Andrei Lysenko: Joss Ackland National Security Advisor Jeffrey Pelt: Richard Jordan Dr. Petrov: Tim Curry Directed by John McTiernan. Screenplay by Larry Ferguson and Donald Stewart, based on the novel by Tom Clancy. Running time: 134 minutes. Rated PG (for some violence). |
While Das Boot showed the audience the day to day lifestyle on a submarine, The Hunt for Red October is almost the opposite, a fast-paced cat and mouse game. Das Boot was more of a monotonous, methodical and cramped, almost claustrophobic film, while in The Hunt for Red October, there is never a dull moment, as something is always happening. We never feel trapped, as we move from place to place unlike Das Boot, where we stay in the boat for what seemed like an eternity.
The Hunt for Red October is one of the smartest action movies I have ever seen. The movie relies more on the story and the characters than the action to impress the audience, though the submarine sequences are not bad themselves. All the characters in the movie have personalities and goals of their own and do not fill the screen as just plot points. Their own feelings and personalities dictate their actions not because the story dictates they say it. The few action scenes that are in the movie are very intense and suspenseful.
Our lead character is Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin), a naval analyst who soon becomes a human pinball, as he bounces from one place to the other across the Atlantic Ocean. Ryan is desperately trying to prove his theory that the Soviet skipper in control of a runaway submarine wants to defect to the United States. Of course, no one is sold by his idea, as the military believes that the skipper has become crazy and plans to attack the U.S. by dropping a couple of warheads. Everyone's attitude to Ryan is the same, as they either think of him as a hotshot or a fool. It is as if he was guest at a party where no one knows who invited him and why. His isolation from the rest of the unbelievers makes him even more likable to the audience, as we quickly get on his side. Why not, since we all know that Ryan is right?
The man everyone is after is Ramius (Sean Connery), the skipper of the runaway sub, and the most respected man in the Soviet underwater navy. A veteran of the seas, he has trained most of the other captains in the fleet. His credentials have given him a chance to be skipper of the new advance submarine in the world called the Red October. The new sub uses a revolutionary new drive called the "Caterpillar." The advance drive is faster than any other submarine and is almost completely silent making the vessel undetectable by sonar. The sub is the stealth bomber of the water. It's capabilities as a weapon are deadly and frightening. "This thing can park one hundred warheads on Washington and New York and no one will know anything until it was all over," informs one of the characters.
The American Intelligence tracked the Red October as it left the Soviet shipyard, but then the sub disappeared. Soon after, the bulk of the Soviet navy launches out to sea in the North Atlantic. Afraid of the implications of an attack by the Russians, the Americans demand a reason for the military presence. The Soviets inform the American military that Ramius is a madman who wants to attack the U.S. The information quickly causes the U.S. Navy to help the Russians track and destroy the Red October. Ryan believing otherwise has to now find the submarine by himself and prove that he is right before both sides find Ramius themselves.
The setup in the film is the same as Tom Clancy's best-selling novel. The story becomes a chess game with the subs, as everyone is trying to guess what the other is trying to do. The movie is mysterious, as we are unsure what are Ramius' actions and his plans. Unlike other Cold War movies, The Hunt for Red October deals with men's action than the usual behavior we come to expect. The interesting point of the film is that the characters are not evil at all. They are only doing their jobs.
The director is John McTiernan, whose previous credits were the popular movies Predator and Die Hard. While those movies were action-oriented, The Hunt for Red October is more than a just a thriller as it is an exercise in military and diplomatic strategy. He does a good job balancing the two, as he keeps the audience on their toes.
The most interesting scene in the film is where Ramius and Borodin (Sam Neill) talk about their plans for the future. War surrounds them, yet they talk as if they are oblivious to it. The scene may seem strange and out of place, but it is comforting, as we see these characters as people instead of mindless units of war.
Connery plays Ramius with power and cleverness, as he tries to conceal his Scottish accent. Baldwin, who has the looks and charms of a leading man, plays a man who is not your average hero, but is quick-thinking, sureheaded and intelligent enough to get by. He seems as lost as we are, as he doesn't belong there. And Scott Glenn, a skipper for the U.S.S. Dallas that always finds itself within yards of the silent Red October, is an equal match to Connery's Ramius, as he has the intelligence and knowledge to match him.
The interiors of the submarines are filled with high-tech gadgetry, which makes you wonder how anyone can operate such a machine. The cockpits' of the subs reminded me of the ones in Star Trek television series, moving up and down as the enemy approaches. The music by Basil Poledouris, whose credits include RoboCop and Conan the Barbarian, creates a perfect composition with the scenes, as we feel awe for these majestic metallic beasts. Unfortunately the exterior underwater shots are less impressive though. The models of the submarines are not clearly shown as they are not visible through the murky and dark waters. At some points, the subs bare a close resemblance to whales.
The Hunt for Red October is the most exciting movie I have seen since Raiders of the Lost Ark. Smart and entertaining, Larry Ferguson and Donald Stewart did a wonderful job of taking out the technical aspects and keeping the suspense and the story of the book. Even though most people will watch it for the action sequences, the reason why the movie works is the mind games and strategies each side has to employ to hide their secrets from the other side. Grade: B
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