K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I only watched this because it is directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who directed the superb The Hurt Locker. I had my reservations, as it looked like a standard Harrison Ford / submarine thriller, albeit based on a true story.Turns out it was I expected, but isn't too bad. Has some originality, and captures the claustrophobia and danger of a submarine well. Would have been better without Harrison Ford though. He gives his usual stony-faced man-for-a-crisis routine, and comes across as fairly wooden.Liam Neeson's character is also fairly irritating, basically just suggesting the opposite to Harrison Ford's, at every opportunity.Ultimately, a fairly interesting capturing of an unknown event in naval history, an event which could have resulted in far more horrific consequences than it did.

It's 1961 at the height of the Cold War. The Soviets launches one of its first ballistic missile nuclear-powered submarine K-19 to test launch a missile from under the Arctic ice cap. Executive officer Mikhail Polenin (Liam Neeson) is concerned about the many problems with the new boat. Alexei Vostrikov (Harrison Ford) is the hard-charging new Commander. After finding the Reactor Officer drunk, Vostrikov replaces him with new graduate Vadim Radtchenko (Peter Sarsgaard). It's a series of mishaps and dangerous malfunctions that threatens the safety of the crew.With a Soviet crew, it's a little harder to find the rooting interest. I never quite get to a point where I care about the outcome. It seems Neeson's character is too whiny. The accents get a bit annoying after awhile. Nevertheless, the story is quite fascinating. It's just not completely compelling to me.

I cannot express how refreshing it was to see a submarine story told from a Russian perspective. I nearly didn't watch it as I expected the usual American take, which never depicts the Russians in a balanced Light.The story is a good one and it's well presented by a decent script. The acting is strong. If I'm honest it was the draw of Liam Neeson and Harrison Ford that persuaded me to watch the film in the first place. These actors in the main roles give worthy performances and do at least attempt the difficult accent. Their characters are multi layered and both of them surprise the viewer by being more complex than we might at first expect. The same is true of the strong ensemble cast. Kathryn Bigolo's direction is excellent and the tension builds at just the right pace, adding to the already intense situation of the claustrophobic setting of the submarine. I even found myself holding my breath at times. I also loved the soundtrack, beautiful, atmospheric and haunting, it complemented the scenes it was used in perfectly. I thoroughly recommend this film. Disregard the moaning Minnie's with their lust for explosive action and give the more subtle action of this praiseworthy film a chance.

Kathryn Bigelow known for action films at the time goes for more drama in K-19, based on true events.During the Cold War era of the early 1960s, the Russian unveil their flagship nuclear submarine but it seems the launch is premature with not enough testing and even safety equipment.Harrison Ford is Captain Alexei Vostrikov, brought in as a troubleshooter, a man who gets things done to replace the more popular Mikhail Polenin (Liam Neeson) now demoted as Executive Officer. This leads to tension between the two as Ford seems to care more getting the sub more ship shape at the expense of the safety of the crew.Things take a turn for the worse as the nuclear reactor leaks and without adequate medication and safety suits, the crew members risk life and limb to save the sub.Submarine films such as this tend to be heavy going. The Hunt for Red October which came out in the early 1990s had a lot of tension and drama to alleviate this. Here things begin slowly as we see the politicians and the military chiefs wanting a show of strength from their new submarine and Ford getting to grips with a crew not quite ready and cursed with bad luck.The sub is well realised. Since the end of the cold war, a few Russian subs can be visited in museums such as San Diego for example and they really are claustrophobic and narrow.Once the sub starts to leak, the action cranks up, as some sailors risk their own lives to enter the leaking chamber, while Ford and Neeson clash as to whether to get help from the Americans. However the film is long and plodding in places.