The Hunt for Red October is a very good adaptation of its source material - the #1 bestseller by infamous author Tom Clancy - and manages to successfully compress the 460+ page novel into a good, solid two-hour running time. The movie moves with great flow, and energy. The actors all do their best, though no one really shines in the film- they all just hold their own beside each other and manage not to bore the audience with their techno babble, which is always a good thing when you try to market a movie adaptation of Clancy, who emphasizes so much on technology.
When Soviet Submarine Captain Marco Ramius (Sean Connery, sporting his always fashionable beard) decides to defect from the Soviet Union he decides to gather his prize officers and run off with the Kremlin's latest, a greatest naval experiment: a silent running nuclear submarine by the name of 'Red October.' A CIA analysis by the name of Jack Ryan (played by a young, still in prime shape Alec Baldwin)realizes the intentions of the Russian Captain's advance towards U.S. shores and convinces his superiors that they must rescue the defectors and acquire the technology of the Red October, and to do it right under the Kremlin's nose (not an easy feat, by the way). It soon become a race against time as American and Soviet forces The best performances by far are provided by Alex Baldwin, Sean Connery, and a brief, yet wonderful performance from Sam Neill. James Earle Jones also comes on briefly as Ryan's boss in a very amusing character who provides some of the film's best lines. None of them really stand out as being "Landmark performances" but they are definitely good performances from some of the best actors of our time.
The movie is fun and should keep most people entertained with its action, and entertaining characters. It is very much like a believable James Bond type movie and makes for fun ride. There are no annoying characters present anywhere in the film and everyone involved in the production of this film seems to have tried their best in making it as visually pleasing as possible. Though the cinematography is not as good as 'Das Boot' (the best submarine film to date) it still does a fine job of emphasizing the claustrophobic environment of the submarines. All these things allow the film to be the best Tom Clancy adaptation to date.
The Special Edition DVD has good picture quality and some nice special features. It is a vast improvement over the bare bones DVD previously released by Paramount...now if only they could improve releases of more of their 80s action-thrillers.
When Soviet Submarine Captain Marco Ramius (Sean Connery, sporting his always fashionable beard) decides to defect from the Soviet Union he decides to gather his prize officers and run off with the Kremlin's latest, a greatest naval experiment: a silent running nuclear submarine by the name of 'Red October.' A CIA analysis by the name of Jack Ryan (played by a young, still in prime shape Alec Baldwin)realizes the intentions of the Russian Captain's advance towards U.S. shores and convinces his superiors that they must rescue the defectors and acquire the technology of the Red October, and to do it right under the Kremlin's nose (not an easy feat, by the way). It soon become a race against time as American and Soviet forces The best performances by far are provided by Alex Baldwin, Sean Connery, and a brief, yet wonderful performance from Sam Neill. James Earle Jones also comes on briefly as Ryan's boss in a very amusing character who provides some of the film's best lines. None of them really stand out as being "Landmark performances" but they are definitely good performances from some of the best actors of our time.
The movie is fun and should keep most people entertained with its action, and entertaining characters. It is very much like a believable James Bond type movie and makes for fun ride. There are no annoying characters present anywhere in the film and everyone involved in the production of this film seems to have tried their best in making it as visually pleasing as possible. Though the cinematography is not as good as 'Das Boot' (the best submarine film to date) it still does a fine job of emphasizing the claustrophobic environment of the submarines. All these things allow the film to be the best Tom Clancy adaptation to date.
The Special Edition DVD has good picture quality and some nice special features. It is a vast improvement over the bare bones DVD previously released by Paramount...now if only they could improve releases of more of their 80s action-thrillers.