Crimson Tide

Over the course of my blog I have covered a number of submarine films and thought Crimson Tide was surely one of them but, alas, no! The Tony Scott 1990s thriller was missing and, as luck would have it, I saw it just recently and so it was time to make up for that glaring omission. All the while Das Boot lies in waiting in the depths of my watchlist...

Released in 1995 and set around the same time, Crimson Tide is about a US submarine crew sent into the Pacific Ocean while their country teeters on the verge of war with Russia. They carry nuclear weapons onboard and their captain can give the orders to launch but when they receive a broken transmission, the veteran commanding officer comes to loggerheads with the new executive officer with how to proceed. Are they on the brink of war or risk starting one by their own actions?

Nine years after the release of Top Gun, this was director Tony Scott's second military film and he brings along the late Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington in the leading roles. Thirty years on since this released in cinemas, Crimson Tide is an excellent thriller and I would rank among the director's best work. It's a cliché to say claustrophobic when referring to films set in submarines but this a suitably tense film that is shot, directed, edited and acted perfectly. Denzel chose the role to act against one of the greats and he delivers a standout performance against the excellent Hackman. 

Crimson Tide is the kind of tightly crafted film that succeeds on everything it sets out to do and never wastes a second. It doesn't matter if you enjoyed Top Gun or not, this film is very accessible to fans of action thrillers and dramas alike making it just so so easy to recommend.