CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) has been following the development of the Red October and when it is detected leaving port there is great consternation in the US military command.
Shortly after leaving base, Captain Ramius kills his political officer, ignores his orders and plots a new course. Neither side knows his intentions.
Action movie stalwart John McTiernan delivers what is perhaps the definitive 90s technothriller. I'm not sure well see its like again.
Packed with a solid cast and relying on tense escalating politics and a cat and mouse hunt for the submarine it generates thrills from people talking in claustrophobic rooms full of control panels and blinking lights with very little on screen action.
Which is a neat trick.
It maybe marks a turning point in cinema politics too, not painting the Soviet characters as bogeymen. There's an element of US triumphalism, of course, but the bulk of the Soviets are shown as fellow military to be treated with respect by both the US and the defecting Ramius. It wasn't that long prior that things like Red Dawn were made and while they'd been sympathetically portrayed before, this was a BIG movie of the time. It kind of marks a winding down of the Cold War, although it wasn't massively obvious when it was being made.
A highpoint of 90s blockbuster cinema 9/10 recommended. It's not highbrow cinema but it is highly effective entertainment.