tstone
09-06-2007, 12:50 PM
Big fan of submarine movies. Big fan of military movies. But you know, there's a fair number of really good movies from different time periods in the genre, so if you are going to wade into these waters, half speed isn't going to do it.
Adrian Paul attempts another post-Highlander breakout. And in this role as a sub skipper who relies on feel and instinct as well as engineering and his instruments, he's competent. As is most of the cast. Most of them are no names, but carry the material pretty well. They even have the actor who played John Crichton's dad as a skeptical admiral. The cast is good, but the rest, pretty much all the rest of the elements in this movie...weak.
Script. The lines in this film seem technically competent. But ESSENTIAL to a good war/military movie, you need to also capture the humanity of these characters. For the most part, it's Navy techno talk, some sad mumbling when a crewmate dies, and grumbles about duty, honor, etc. There is nothing that really shows these characters as people. Just sailors.
Effects. This film looked cheap. The underwater stuff you see on JAG looks better than this. And the design for the "stealth sub"? Not believable. I'm no naval technical expert, but with my limited knowledge about how underwater stealth looks, the design of the enemy sub did not say silent to me. A very busy looking mast that would disrupt it's streamlining, the hammerhead structure up front, the big bicycle wheel screw? No, didn't buy it.
Plot...the idea that the N Koreans would have the ability to build some kind of super stealth sub in complete secret? Their forces are somewhat potent, but mostly due to numbers. They are NOT the cutting edge of tech. There was no attempt to explain how they gained this ability. Plausibility stretched beyond the breaking point. Would have been much more believable if this had been, say, the Chinese. Or even the Chinese selling/lending the tech to the North Koreans. That the NK would have the ability alone?
Please.
Yeoman's effort, but worth a single rental at most.
Highlander the series gave you much more to work with, Adrian, so I know you can do it.
Adrian Paul attempts another post-Highlander breakout. And in this role as a sub skipper who relies on feel and instinct as well as engineering and his instruments, he's competent. As is most of the cast. Most of them are no names, but carry the material pretty well. They even have the actor who played John Crichton's dad as a skeptical admiral. The cast is good, but the rest, pretty much all the rest of the elements in this movie...weak.
Script. The lines in this film seem technically competent. But ESSENTIAL to a good war/military movie, you need to also capture the humanity of these characters. For the most part, it's Navy techno talk, some sad mumbling when a crewmate dies, and grumbles about duty, honor, etc. There is nothing that really shows these characters as people. Just sailors.
Effects. This film looked cheap. The underwater stuff you see on JAG looks better than this. And the design for the "stealth sub"? Not believable. I'm no naval technical expert, but with my limited knowledge about how underwater stealth looks, the design of the enemy sub did not say silent to me. A very busy looking mast that would disrupt it's streamlining, the hammerhead structure up front, the big bicycle wheel screw? No, didn't buy it.
Plot...the idea that the N Koreans would have the ability to build some kind of super stealth sub in complete secret? Their forces are somewhat potent, but mostly due to numbers. They are NOT the cutting edge of tech. There was no attempt to explain how they gained this ability. Plausibility stretched beyond the breaking point. Would have been much more believable if this had been, say, the Chinese. Or even the Chinese selling/lending the tech to the North Koreans. That the NK would have the ability alone?
Please.
Yeoman's effort, but worth a single rental at most.
Highlander the series gave you much more to work with, Adrian, so I know you can do it.