K:19 The Widowmaker Review

The year is 1961 and the Cold War is at its height. The K-19 is the most up-to-date Soviet nuclear submarine but, after an unsuccessful trial, its captain, Polenin, Liam Neeson, is replaced by Vostrikov, Harrison Ford. Polenin`s crew members resent the newcomer, especially when he nearly causes a disaster by insisting the submarine surface through thick ice. When a nuclear reactor begins to malfunction, a terrible disaster seems inevitable; a nearby American ship offers assistance to the stricken Russian vessel, but Vostrikov refuses help from the enemy...The Russian survivors of the near-disaster have disputed the accuracy of Kathryn Bigelow`s film. It`s certainly interesting to see a Hollywood film in which Russians are the heroes, and to enjoy the sheer physicality of Bigelow`s direction. Unfortunately, the preliminaries are too protracted, resulting in an overlong film, and Harrison Ford`s Russian captain is a bit too wooden. The suspense builds towards the end, but not enough to make K-19 as interesting as it could have been.