It was once said that Denzel Washington was the most over-rated, most over-paid actor in Hollywood. I don’t know about that but he sure is eye-candy and does have a captivating presence. But, for me, Gene Hackman is the more versatile actor, capable to bring validity to any character he is assigned. Gene Hackman steals this show. Besides Washington’s and Hackman’s star-power, in addition to an ensemble cast of note (George Dzundza, Viggo Mortensen, James Gandolfini, Matt Craven, Ricky Schroder, Steve Zahn, Ryan Phillippe, among others), I was expecting more from this film than a mutiny in a submarine.
Tensions arise between headstrong combat-hardened veteran Captain Frank Ramsey (Hackman) and Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter (Washington) as his new XO, who has an extensive education in military history and tactics, therefore is more analytical and cautious, but no combat experience. We have a clash of wills (and underlying bigotry) from the git-go and two different styles of command – one old school, the other new – one brute force, the other psychological. The action takes place during a period of political turmoil in the Russian Federation, in which ultranationalists threaten to launch nuclear missiles at the United States and Japan. Ramsey’s and Hunter’s conflict comes to a head over interpretations of an order to launch their missiles – Ramsey proceeds, Hunter refuses to concur.
As I was watching, I kept seeing a re-boot of “Run Silent, Run Deep” (1958, Clark Gable/Burt Lancaster) with a twist = the race card. During the Mexican standoff near the end, an analogy is made to the Lipizzaner stallions.
The critics raved when the movie was released. I preferred “Run Silent, Run Deep”, but that’s not saying “Crimson Tide” is not worth your time… because it is.