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The Hunt for Red October (1990) Reviews
The Hunt For Red October Review


A classic

To be honest, even though this movie has a really solid reputation, I have to admit that I always had some mixed feelings about this flick. I mean, obviously, for John McTiernan, it was a 3rd huge success in a row (following the superior โDie Hardโ and โPredatorโ) and he was, back in those days, one of the most highly regarded directors in Hollywood. Anyway, since this movie was regarded as a great thriller, I was expecting a lot from it. Unfortunately, I thought it turned out to slightly disappointing. I mean, sure, it was still not bad at all and even fairly entertaining but I just had a rather hard time to get into the story. Above all, I thought that to choose Sean Connery and Sam Neill to portray some Soviet officers was a rather odd move and made the whole thing rather unconvincing. Eventually, this movie would be also the very first one involving Jack Ryan and, for some weird reason, Alec Baldwin thought it would be a better idea to drop out from this franchise and the character would be eventually forever linked to Harrison Ford. Anyway, to conclude, even though I didnโt really love the damned thing, it remains an entertaining thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Review of The Hunt for Red October

This is one of those films in which the plot is expressed in the title. The Red October is a nuclear sub controlled by Soviet commander Marko Ramius. Despite its massive size, it is able to pass undetected by solar devices. The U.S. feel threatened by this submarine, but CIA analyst Jack Ryan isn't so sure that the intents by the Soviets are hostile.
The Hunt for Red October is a surprisingly tedious viewing. There are numerous things that are to blame here. The biggest issue seems to be the characters, who are generally, unengaging. Jack Ryan is your typical protagonist with a crazy theory no one will believe. Alec Baldwin's performance is solid, but he's not given much to work with. Sean Connery is the kind of actor who can elevate a weak script, and he does just that here as Marko Ramius. Even though his character is the most intricately written in the film, it isn't strong enough for us to invest in, so Connery has an especially difficult task here. Thankfully, he's ripe for the challenge. His commanding screen presence is the highlight of the film.
Executive Vasily Borodin might have been an interesting character (a loyal mate to Ramius, despite his personal doubts of Ramius' decisions), had Sam Neil's performance not insisted on spoon-feeding every emotion to the audience. Tim Curry is completely underutilized in a fairly anonymous performance as a minor side character. James Earl Jones and Joss Ackland are notable in small, supporting roles.
Some of the underwater visuals of the submarines are wonderful, and even majestic. The cinematography is unusual, but constantly interesting. And Basil Poledouris' score, while largely generic ambiance and suspense cues, is punctuated with striking choral writing. The Hunt for Red October is too well-made to dismiss entirely. But it's inability to interest outside of its technical achievements is an important issue.
I mentioned in my opening that age is partly at blame here for the weakness of the picture. The story represents a hot topic that has since cooled down. The Cold War doesn't ignite the imagination like it once did. That's not necessarily a problem with the film itself; it was made for yesterday's audiences, with no necessary intentions of functioning today. Alas, the mark of a great film is its ability to entertain as years pass. The Hunt for Red October is hardly a timeless film. Though at 135 minutes, it does possess an uncanny illusion of making time go slower. Alas, that's not quite the same thing.

The Hunt for Red October (1990) review

The cat and mouse game started between Russian and Americans and also with in crew. With both American and Russian on the hunt for Red October, however one Men was clever enough to figure out the true intentions of captain Ramius.
