Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman in CRIMSON TIDE: Movie Review

2008-10-06 06:19:04

"Crimson Tide" Movie Review. 8/10.
By Alex DeMattia. ALL ABOUT MOVIES.NET.

"Crimson Tide" on the surface appears to be a navy action film set underwater with big powerful submarines, nuclear missiles and firey characters. It does deliver on those points, but it also manages to be quite a claustrophobic, psychological thriller with two powerhouse performances from Denzel Washington as First Officer Ron Hunter and Gene Hackman as Captain Frank Ramsey. The best moments in this film for me are not when things are exploding, people are running frantically around to save the ship or when the latest catastrophe is about to erupt but when these two characters butt heads, and they do it in style. Director Tony Scott delivers with a never pausing camera, moving to and fro to provide a fast pace to the proceedings while never letting the drama of the situation sit in the background. "Crimson Tide" is a film about the consequences of nuclear war, and although this is a fictional account, it's an interesting presentation of how decisions that could have changed the world could have so easily gone one way or the other.

We are introduced to Russian extremist Radchenko through news footage; he threatens to use the ex-Soviet nuclear weapons system against anyone who dares to attack him. For the most part, he disappears from the film after that, serving as the talking point only between all the characters concerned. The navy is called in to action to defend the US from any possible attack. Captain Ramsey of the nuclear submarine USS Alabama is ordered to go out there to 'give the man a moment of pause'. He is accompanied by new first officer Ron Hunter who only takes the job when the current first officer got appendicitis. From the outset, Ramsay advises Hunter to not be a kiss-ass if he wants to move forward with his career. This notion is put to the test early, with the two men at first agreeing to disagree on how things are handled on the submarine, but soon escalates to verbal shouting matches and power challenges between the two over two seemingly contravening orders; one to launch the nuclear missiles against Radchenko, and the other not to. This forms the basis for the rest of the film which is really a battle of will and wits between two strong men who in the end according to the letter of the law, are both right, and both wrong.

Both Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman, either one by themselves being a powerful presence on screen, are dynamite when they have their scenes together. The first showdown occurs when Hunter refuses to repeat Ramsey's order to fire the missiles, culminating in Hunter relieving Ramsey of his command. Seeing these two actors trade verbal blows is a sight to watch, particularly later on when Ramsey regains control of the submarine but Hunter refuses to give him the missile key which can fire the missiles. Hackman yells, "I am the commander of this f&*#ing ship! Give me the goddamn key!". It's an object lesson in how a good film is ultimately driven by a dramatically intense scenario delivered by top notch performances as opposed to being full of hollow and empty set pieces as this action film could very well have turned out being.

If there's anything negative about this film I would have to say is the pro-American references throughout. Granted, there have been films that have been far worse in this respect ("Independence Day" any one?) but it does reak of self-indulgence. Ramsey's speech to his crew is an excellent example where he pronounces they live in the best country in the world... Please.

The film moves very quickly, and that's mostly thanks to director Tony Scott's frenetic camera-work. He may have been conscious of appearing land-lock in such a claustrophobic set and that is the reason for the constantly moving camera. I think it works quite well, and manages to convey the intense emotion felt by all the crew as they move through such an extraordinary situation.

"Crimson Tide" is a gripping thriller that won't let you go until the very last minute.

For the complete, original DVD review, click HERE.

Alex DeMattia is the lead DVD reviewer at ALL ABOUT MOVIES.NET.

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