CRIMSON TIDE

I really must stop criticising Tony Scott.  This is his second directorial outing and it’s pretty much perfect.  Of course it helps that the screenplay is top notch and that the film stars two actors at the top of their game, going toe to toe.

The basic setup for this film is a doozie.  Against a backdrop of tensions between the US and the USSR running high, a US sub armed with nuclear missiles has lost communication with the outer world but the last order it received was such that unless it is countermanded its nuclear missiles will need to be launched within the hour.

The sub’s commander Ramsey (Gene Hackman) is all for obeying the order and setting off a nuclear Armageddon.  His new second-in-command, Hunter (Denzil Washington), is more cautious (seems reasonable to me) and wants to confirm that the order should be carried out.

Scarily, this setup is based on a real incident during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

I did my usual intense research (i.e. I skimmed Wikipedia) and learned, much to my surprise, that Quentin Tarantino (of all people) contributed some of the dialogue. 

Obviously he was responsible for some minor chitchat about the Silver Surfer.  

I would also think that he wrote the dialogue between Ramsey and Hunter regarding Lipizzaner stallions and whether they are black or white, which has clear racial undertones. 

I also learned that there was some disagreement between Tarantino and Washington around the desirability or otherwise of introducing a racial element into the relationship between Ramsey and Hunter.

I’m on Washington’s side on this - I think the drama is strong enough without introducing race.

Undoubtedly there is a tension between Ramsey and Hunter right from the start but I attribute this to a generational divide - Ramsey is the hardened veteran whilst Hunter has a very impressive cv but hasn’t seen much action.

Inevitably the situation leads to a full scale battle of wills between the two leads, with senior crew members (including James Gandolfini) having to choose a side.

This is all directed expertly.  And because it was made before CGI it all looks and feels very real. 

As a bonus I love submarine films anyway and therefore I enjoyed all the usual tropes of this sub genre - I never tire of hearing about the conn being taken. 

RATING: ✓✓ Catch It If You Can