Kursk

This film was excellent in every aspect. Directing by Thomas Vinterberg was amazing (except for the annoying black edges at the start and end of the film - why?). Writing/screenplay by Robert Rodat was great. Cinematography near perfect. Casting was outstanding - as were the performances by all. The score/music was bang on. S/VFX were perfect. My only critique is that the almost 2 hour length felt longer due to some slow pacing issues. Otherwise, an excellent film that leaves an uneasy feeling in your stomach, knowing that this film is based on actual events. A well deserved 9/10 from me.

I remember watching the tragedy unfurl in real time when I was in the Russian army. That was on BBC and I don't remember the Russian media covering the story as objectively. The film is enjoyable

I watch all films by Thomas Vinterberg. "Festen" was great; "The Hunt" was excellent. "Kursk" ("The Command") successfully recreates the tight life on a submarine. But it does not live up to its self-billing of a "true story." The film blames Navy admirals (sweet to see the old Max von Sydow one last time) for refusing foreign help. In fact, the new Russian President Vladimir Putin was the one who refused help for days. Moreover, Putin did not interrupt his Black Sea vacation to engage in the rescue of the sailors. It was not "Admiral Petrenko" as you allege in the film, but Russian President Putin himself, who met with the families in a closed doors multi-hour meeting. A new widow of the submarine sailor emotionally criticized Putin, and was forcibly tranquilized (!) and removed from the room.

Dear Vinterberg: were you scared to portray Russian President Putin in the film? If so, don't undertake such a film, or at the very least don't call it a "true story." Even later, when Larry King, asked Putin in an interview "What happened to the submarine?" -- Putin replied with a callous smirk "She drowned." The heart-breaking letter was written by the dying Dmitri Kolesnikov, the commander of the torpedo section, to his wife -- why not honor him by using the real name? You ascribed the letter to the submarine's commander-in-chief, which is false. Listen to a song "Captain Kolesnikov" By Yuri Shevchuk - it is true to real feelings from this tragedy:

"Who about death will tell us two truthful words, It is a pity the fallen sailors have no black boxes.

Pencil breaks, it's cold, it's dark -- Captain Kolesnikov is writing a letter to us."

If you ever felt claustrophobic in a submarine tour this movie would be quite distressing. Seeing the cold dark wet and suffering they endured makes you wonder why anyone would voluntarily have a life on a sub. The true story of the Kursk tragedy is vividly brought to the screen by Luc Besson.

It's so frustrating how the responsible people delayed accepting help that could have saved them.

Matthias looks like a famous Russian so good casting. Lea Seydoux even looks fat for the role of pregnant wife.

Worth a watch.

Well you know this ain't going to be sunshine and rainbows going in. It's basically 'Chernobyl' but with a submarine. It's also not nearly as well-written or executed as the likes of 'Chernobyl'.

I hated the director's choice of film ratios. Both the opening scenes and final scenes are presented in what resembles a tiny box. At first I got the vibe of an old home video. I even began adjusting the settings of my TV thinking something had gone wrong. It hadn't.

Matthias Schoenaerts is the standout performance here. There's not much else memorable about anything else. Colin Firth's presence is somewhat puzzling. In fact the whole film suffers at times from the weird mix of accents on display. I would've much preferred the whole thing in Russian.

I remembered reading about the Kursk in the newspaper as a kid. The true story of this is equal parts terrifying and heartbreaking. While 'Kursk' did its best humanizing the victims, it still somehow didn't feel urgent or intense enough as it perhaps should.

This film would have more impact if you didn't already know much about the true story. It succeeds in making me want to read some of the books about it and find out more - but beyond that, I can't help feeling the brave men of the Kursk deserved a better film about them.