Jul. 20, 2002 - 11:33 pm
well my mom and i decided it was necessary that we go see a new movie at the theater instead of just sitting in my apartment all weekend playing with my new kittens and watching Patrick McGoohan films. i probably wouldn't have gone to see this film had she not suggested it, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't worth watching. this movie just opened yesterday and is "that new submarine movie with Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson." something you should keep in mind though if you're planning on seeing it is that they all have fake Russian accents since the K-19 was a Russian submarine.
based on a true story, this is about the biggest, most dangerous sub created during the Cold War. in 1961 the ship left port and never reached its destination off the coast of the U.S. it was doomed to failure after 10 people died during its preparation (before the ship even left port). then during its christening, the bottle did not break as it struck the hull.
(possible spoilers to follow) i think i will always remember this film as the radiation film. their nuclear reactor flips out and there are lots of heroics done trying to repair the coolant system (without radiation suits...and oh is that not a good idea). the one plot element that i really thought was innovative was that the weaselly guy (who always appears in war type films when there is no definite "villain" - see Saving Private Ryan (1998) for a good example in Jeremy Davies) actually redeems himself. you're afraid he's going to wimp out and kill them all, but he actually overcomes his weak persona and saves everyone in a way. well maybe i'm giving away the entire plot, but you weren't going to see it anyway right?
very solid acting from everyone. i was of course slightly bothered by the fake accents which i didn't think were very convincing as being Russian. the one other amazing thing about this film is one of the final scenes where you see Liam Neeson and Harrison Ford as old men in snowy Moscow. the makeup is just perfect. you know how in movies you always have the obligatory scene at the end where the lead actors are made up to look like old men and women and the makeup just sucks? the makeup here is perfect and it's really believable that the men are "old men." simply the best i have ever seen it done.