Phantom

Submarine films are few and far between - which is a shame, because there are few settings which breed tension in the way that a steel coffin submerged 200m below the sea's surface can. 'Phantom' isn't groundbreaking, but if you're after tension, heroism, drama and bravery, few current new releases deliver in the way that this movie does. There are a few real tearjerker moments - and at the end of the day, the movie does what it says on the box. Submarine. Conflict. Awesome. Sure, it's not going to fetch many stars from the art-house crowd - but if you want a simple, tense actioner; that doesn't ask you to suspend belief too much - you could do much, much worse.

Very well acted, with a great cast. If you are fan of Red October you will like this movie. The sub plot about the captain was unnecessary. Ed Harris does a great job in delivering his character.

Story is well told, although not new. I am surprised that this didn't do better in general release. William Fitchner should also be pointed out as an actor who always delivers good character roles.

I like the fact that they didn't try to have the actors deliver lines in broken Russian/English. We didn't need to hear bad accents to believe that this is a Russian boat. They didn't try to make the characters appear more 'Russian' by giving into stereo types.

"There are only 2 reasons for a boat to go rogue. One is to defect and the other is to start a war and I don't think we're defecting." This movie is based on actual evens set during the Cold War between the US and the USSR. After returning home and excited about being on leave the A Russian sub captain (Harris) and crew are stunned when they are chosen to go on another mission right away. The mission is classified and the only one on the sub that knows the details is a KGB agent Duchovny). When certain details emerge the crew starts to rethink the orders they are given. I was looking forward to seeing this for really one reason. I am a huge Ed Harris fan. He did not disappoint in this movie. The movie itself is also really good and the best way to describe it is a mix of Hunt For Red Octber and Crimson Tide. The fact that the movie is true makes it even more interesting to watch. It is a little predictable but that does not take away from the enjoyment of the movie at all. If you are a fan of movies like Red October then this movie is for you. I recommend this. Overall, very tense and exciting. I give it a B+.

Inspired by actual events in 1968

In 1968, a Russian diesel submarine goes out for one last mission and then it will be given to the Chinese. Captain Demi (Ed Harris) believes Bruni (David Duchovny), a KGB operative, has plans to take over the ship and start a nuclear war. Bruni will use Phantom to accomplish his mission. How to stop him?

I may be dating myself, but I couldn't help thinking of Richard Widmark during this movie. This was his kind of movie and Ed Harris does an Oscar Worthy job filling in for our departed (2008) friend. Kudos.

The language was all in English, not English with broken Russian accents. That was a good move as nothing was lost in translation by doing this.

The acting by all was excellent. There was good suspense and tension with the music helping.

This was thoroughly enjoyable and the last scenes were heartfelt and very, very clever. Keep a box of Kleenex handy as you may need it. Did I mention that the last scenes were very clever?

There is a statement at the end that says in 1968 a Russian submarine went missing and all is still classified by both the Russian and American governments. (9/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes, not much though.

Like another reviewer from Samara has mentioned here, you can count tons of fakes here. Usually a Hollywood movie at least tries to be as much accurate as possible. Here, apart of gears showing authentic Russian readings and navy/military uniforms looking right, everything else looks and feels American. I can mention few "gems" here, like what and how "Russian" officers drink! They do not gulp (as any normal Russian does) - they sip, just like ladies. Then all these "sir" and "mister", and then a Russian captain reflecting and even crying about killed sailors. Really? And all those nice and glowing scenes from an Orthodox church! Yes, of course. Churches in Russia in 1960s. The director, Todd Robinson, should have hired just one Russian as a consultant, that would serve the movie for sure.

However, if you ignore the lines in the story that this is supposed to be about Russian people and Russian navy and few real things like those gears, and imagine that this is about a US navy, and about rogue CIA agents, then everything falls in its place and looks natural. This could be a good watchable movie.