Phantom (2013)

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

In truth, any opportunity to see the film on the big screen is welcome.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Overall, this was a good movie. The only real problem I had was that this was a Russian submarine with dozens of Russian crew members and not one of them had a Russian accent. For me, that took away a substantial amount of credibility in the movie. I found myself frequently wondering what was going on here. Were these Americans that hi- jacked a Russian sub? But, no, they were supposed to be Russian's. Took a lot of the believability out of the movie.

I can't be as critical of "Phantom" from 2013 the way some of the more knowledgeable people here are. I read with interest the comments from an actual Russian, and I do think had they hired a Russian consultant it would have been more accurate. However, since I wasn't aware of any of that while watching it, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the film.Inspired by actual events, Ed Harris plays Demi, a Russian captain who, had he not been from a prominent family, would have been long gone after a major screw-up that lost lives. During the incident, he suffered an injury which has caused him to have seizures.In command of a submarine, he is approached by men, led by David Duchovny, who say they are on the submarine to carry out a secret mission. It turns out to be the testing of the 'Phantom' which cloaks the submarine and fools the enemy into thinking the sub is from another country.Demi knows that he's only commanding a sub because the Russians did not want his family shamed, so he also knows that no one in the KGB or anywhere else would choose his sub for a top secret mission. So who are these people, and what is their real purpose?Filmed in a submarine, while this film isn't as good as Das Boot or some other sub films, it's quite exciting, and Ed Harris, David Duchovny, William Fitchner, and Jonathan Schaech all are terrific.My only quibble is that I did pick up one thing the Russian reviewer did - there is a man with claustrophobia on the sub who refuses to do something he's asked to do. A claustrophobic wouldn't be in that job, and I don't even think would be on a submarine. I'm claustrophobic and you couldn't get me in one above water, let alone below.The subject of accents came up on the message board as these actors spoke without accents. Yes of course they did. They were not speaking English, but Russian -- not English with a Russian accent.This film is a good reason to read up on what went on during the Cold War, and a K-129 disappearance in the Pacific in 1968. There is a very scary scenario set up in this film which anecdotally appears to be true. It was a dangerous time.

Much is made of perceived weaknesses in "Phantom," most notably the absence of Russian accents. This doesn't bother me, certainly no more than watching anything by the BBC in which everyone, regardless of character nationality, has an accent found somewhere in the British Isles. I'm not familiar with the minutiae of Soviet era submariners, so I can't suitably critique the proper etiquette or uniform details. Looked accurate enough for me to accept it. If you're willing to look past that, you'll be able to enjoy a competent, if slightly derivative, submarine flick. Frankly, it's worth watching for the performances of Ed Harris (the sub captain) and William Fichtner (Harris's second in command) alone. They carry the movie, and, in my case at least, kept me watching through to the end. David Duchovny, as the rogue KGB agent is a little harder to accept, but I suspect that has less to do with his performance than my own inability to not think, "What the hell, Mulder?" every time I see him. The supporting characters do their best with what they have, and honestly, I admire anyone who can work in even a mock submarine's space. Ultimately, this movie is about sacrifice, whether on the part of the family separated by military service, or the things one is willing to do for the sake of one's nation. If you've actually read this far into the reviews, or even this far into this one review, I think you'll be engaged enough that it won't be a waste of your time to watch "Phantom," especially if you can see it via whatever instant service you use. Like it says above, it's not "Das Boot," but really, what else is?

this movie is totally based on cold war between USA and ussr and how humanity was displayed by the Russian army , in other words its specifically about a submarine which was assigned for some covert mission and you get a twist in the story .... i would not like to destroy your suspense, basically what i felt about it is a good movie for the people who love documentary type of movies and also action based type. but the action was not up to what i expected by seeing the tag lines though they have described the story clearly but still more action was required and English actors without Russian acsent ..overall its good and a must watch movie.. you may like it !!!