Nonureva Really Surprised!

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Michael J Lawrence A dramatic extrapolation of one of the four leading theories behind the loss if K-129 (whose secrets remain informally hidden by both the U.S. and Russian naval communities to this day), this is a well-acted, well-written and well-directed film.The plot is very similar to Crimson Tide, but I think this movie does a better job with the basic premise of a mutiny aboard a nuclear submarine. The dialog is much tighter and the tone is more sincere. The underlying tension is ideological, not racial, which I think lends a more sobering experience.I also appreciated that the actors didn't attempt any sort of accents. Instead, they focused on the human drama at the center of the story and really led Ed Harris knock out a great portrayal of an aging hero who must overcome a dark past to do the right thing.And, yeah, it kind of makes you wonder - what the heck happened back in 1968 that nobody to this day wants to disclose the truth? The only thing I find really odd is that I never heard of this movie until I stumbled across it on Netflix. I would have very much enjoyed watching this in the theater.Why it only garnered 500,000 during an 1100 screen release is utterly baffling. There are enough of us naval grognards who still enjoy a good sub thriller to buy tickets. My best guess is that it simply wasn't marketed.

buiger Now, this is one of those rare occasions where I disagree with Berardinelli's review. I found this movie to be way below par, not researched, without any attention to historical detail, poorly written and horribly miss-cast.The end result is a totally unrealistic and unbelievable motion picture. The problems start right at the beginning... The submarine sails out of a 'Soviet' port to begin its mission. The camera gives us a panoramic view of the port, complete with ultramodern cranes for container lifting, cranes that do not exist in ports in Russia today, let alone the Soviet Union in 1968! Immediately afterwards, the sub goes under the keel of a cargo ship (called a 'tanker' in the movie) which actually turns out to be an ultra-modern Ro-Ro vessel for carrying cars! Vessels like this have only existed since the 1990ies, and this one was blatantly brand new! Again, immediately thereafter, we see the Captain (Ed Harris) looking at his watch, a modern model from Ulysse Nardin, something that did not exist in 1968, and definitely something a Soviet submarine skipper could never possess in those days. Then there where other 'inconsistancies' such as the the Russiam captain consulting a priest, or his lieutenant getting married in a church. In those days, there where no priests on military bases in the Soviet Union, and an officer (who at that time was also always a member of the Communist party) seen conferring with a priest or (worse) getting married in a church would have inevitably ended up with a one way ticket to a Siberian Gulag). It is painfully clear that the filmmakers have no idea about history, the Soviet union, or the time in which the events take place.Last but not least, the cast... While Ed Harris puts in his usual professional performance and is not so bad as the Skipper of the sub, all the other actors' performances are far below average. Starting with Duchovny, who as a KGB Special Agent in 1968 is just as believable as if he would be cast to play a Geisha in a movie about medieval Japan.Sad really, this could have been a good movie if somebody had actually taken the trouble to do some real research.

blanche-2 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.

OJT What a long wait it has been since I saw u-boat flick! It's been so many years, I have to check when they came out, all of the great ones; "Das Boot", "The hunt for Red October", "The enemy below", "Crimson Tide"... I must say, after seeing this, I'd like to see more. Films like this are bound to be tight, and well acted, if you get the right actors to do it. Director Todd Robinson obviously did here.Based on a true story, we follow a Cold War Russian u-boat crew when they come in, and are sent out right away the morning after on an old submarines allegedly last trip before it's to be emptied and sold to the Chinese. The mission also includes a couple of strangers with a command to follow, with a secret mission. What, is not to be revealed until they are out on open sea.Ed Harris is the one bargaining of this to be quality, and boy it is. We also get to see David Duchovny, William Fichtner, Kip Pardue and Lance Henriksen in central roles.I'm relieved this isn't a film in which the actors are to talk English with a Russian accent. This film is too good to fall into that category. Another quality sign. This is history telling, of history we don't want to re-live. Thank God those days are over. Let's hope they never return.