The Hunt for Red October
Sean Connery as a Soviet submarine captain with a Scottish accent? At least Sam Neil adopted the Russian accent and Alec Baldwin didn't need to change his. Best-selling author Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October is one of the most engrossing novels I have ever read. The vast scope of the novel was well translated to film, the depth of the characters sufficient and the suspense of the plot gripped me until the very last page of the novel and reel of the film.
The plot: Set in 1984, with the Cold War in full swing Marco Ramius, the Soviet Union's best submarine captain in their newest, super-quiet ballistic missile submarine Red October, violates orders and disappears from its prescribed route, instead heading towards the United States Atlantic coastline. Is this a madman with nuclear weapons about to start a war, or is he trying to defect with a wealth of technology and secrets?
Alec Baldwin plays US naval historian and CIA analyst Jack Ryan (the hero of a long line of Clancy novels and their film version, of which this is the first). Ryan thinks that the Lithuanian Marco Ramius (Sean Connery) is defecting, but the Soviet leadership, afraid that his submarine will be handed over to the US, spread the story that he has gone mad. The race is on for Ryan to prove his theory that Ramius is defecting before the US Navy sinks the Red October.
In Summary: The film is well acted and the plot well translated from Clancy's novel - though truncated and changed in parts to suit the medium. This is the best and truest of the films made from Clancy's novels and maintains a tremendous pace for what is essentially a submarine hunt movie. The underwater combat is exceptionally well done and hasn't been bested. Director John McTiernan is one of the best large-scale action directors around and proves it here.
The Casablanca comparison: Just like Victor, Marco Ramius longs to see justice brought to his country and the authoritarian regime that rules it defeated. The only chance for both men is to escape to the free and strong United States, from there to continue their struggle to free their homelands.
Rating: I give The Hunt for Red October an 8 out of 10. The underwater sequences are remarkable, the tension well created and maintained and the star power is measurable. Best of all, it is reasonably true to the original Clancy novel.
The plot: Set in 1984, with the Cold War in full swing Marco Ramius, the Soviet Union's best submarine captain in their newest, super-quiet ballistic missile submarine Red October, violates orders and disappears from its prescribed route, instead heading towards the United States Atlantic coastline. Is this a madman with nuclear weapons about to start a war, or is he trying to defect with a wealth of technology and secrets?
Alec Baldwin plays US naval historian and CIA analyst Jack Ryan (the hero of a long line of Clancy novels and their film version, of which this is the first). Ryan thinks that the Lithuanian Marco Ramius (Sean Connery) is defecting, but the Soviet leadership, afraid that his submarine will be handed over to the US, spread the story that he has gone mad. The race is on for Ryan to prove his theory that Ramius is defecting before the US Navy sinks the Red October.
In Summary: The film is well acted and the plot well translated from Clancy's novel - though truncated and changed in parts to suit the medium. This is the best and truest of the films made from Clancy's novels and maintains a tremendous pace for what is essentially a submarine hunt movie. The underwater combat is exceptionally well done and hasn't been bested. Director John McTiernan is one of the best large-scale action directors around and proves it here.
The Casablanca comparison: Just like Victor, Marco Ramius longs to see justice brought to his country and the authoritarian regime that rules it defeated. The only chance for both men is to escape to the free and strong United States, from there to continue their struggle to free their homelands.
Rating: I give The Hunt for Red October an 8 out of 10. The underwater sequences are remarkable, the tension well created and maintained and the star power is measurable. Best of all, it is reasonably true to the original Clancy novel.
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