- Starring
- Gene Hackman, Denzel Washington, Matt Craven
- Writer
- Michael Schiffer
- Director
- Tony Scott
- Rating
- R (United States)
- Running Time
- 116 minutes
Overall Score
Rating Summary
Crimson Tide takes place in the wake of ongoing conflict in Chechnya, a Russian nationalist and his military team seize control of a nuclear missile installation and threaten war if either the American or Russian governments attempt to stop him. The following movie is all about the clash of wills between Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter (Washington) and Captain Frank Ramsey (Hackman), executive officer and commanding officer of a U.S. nuclear missile submarine respectively, in regards to their conflicting interpretations of an order to launch their missiles.
Crimson Tide is at its best when it’s focused squarely on the tug-of-war between Washington and Hackman’s Hunter and Ramsey as their differing tactics, opinions, and ideologies take the forefront. The two are an electrifying duo, as well as well-cast in their respective archetypes, with Washington’s Hunter being more analytical and calculative, and Hackman’s Ramsey being more impulsive and intuitive. The way the film tackles the rights and wrongs on both sides is commendable as it doesn’t try to paint either one of them as the villain, making for a more nuanced and well-balanced story.
Meanwhile, Crimson Tide features a script is exactly what one would expect from this sort of 90’s action thriller; tight and propulsive, very little time wasted as push comes to shove and the stakes are raised. The dialogue is also snappy courtesy of an uncredited Quentin Tarantino, who makes the lines spoken by the actors far more digestible and rapid-fire than it might’ve been without his input. The film’s political subtext is one element that conflicts with itself; on one hand, this film does at times ask some questions about our societal monopoly on violence, the state’s power over that, and the ethics of the government’s role in that. It’s not exactly overly intelligent in how it confronts these ideas and questions, but it does use this text as an effective setting for the film’s conflict.
Tony Scott’s direction does a lot of heavy lifting in terms of maintaining high stakes as he makes viewers feel claustrophobic inside this submarine while allowing his actors to carry a lot of the film with their charisma. The cinematography is also worth noting as Dariusz Wolski makes good use of the confined location of the submarine, illuminating the actors with the submarine’s lights and capturing glowing close-ups of their faces. The sound work is as stellar as one would expect from an action thriller movie with Kevin O’Connell’s involvement; it is layered and powerful, but not overpowering. Hans Zimmer delivers a patriotic synth-heavy score that matches well with this film.
At the end of the day, Crimson Tide delivers the goods for action movie fans and occasionally makes you think about the politics from this era, even if it’s not the deepest examination of warfare you’ll find.
still courtesy of Hollywood Pictures
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