'The Hunt For Red October' isn't aging well

Subnuts · 03-25-10, 11:33 AM

Ever love a movie to death when you were young, and re-watched it as an adult and couldn't get into it anymore? For me, I think The Hunt For Red October suffers from that problem. I used to watch it over and over when I was younger, getting caught up in the "big submarines!" aspect of it not really caring about the plot. I watched it again the other day for the first time in about three years. Good acting all around, great score, some nice tense setpieces...but I just couldn't get myself wrapped up in it like I used to.

I don't know why this movie doesn't do much for me anymore...and Sean Connery's accent doesn't really bother me at all. The whole film has this glossy, staged feel, and I can't suspend my disbelief and accept I'm watching more than just actors on a sound-stage, or models in a giant fog tank. Look at the titular submarine's control room - it's the size of a basketball court, plated in chrome, and has more blue and green-colored lights than an average disco. Some of the special effects in the last reel are horrendous, even for 1989. There are glowing white matte lines around the torpedoes and the final scene with Connery and Baldwin looks like a mid-90s FMV video game. I guess I'm just spoiled by movie like K-19 and Das Boot where they went out of their ways to make the interiors accurate.

Now, maybe I'm just bitching about the visual aspect of the movie, but there are pretty big plot problems as well. How did that DSRV end up on the Dallas in the 20 hours between it's run-in with Red October and Ramius evacuating the sub? How does Jack Ryan, a CIA defense analyst, tell the Captain of the Dallas to change course to the Laurentian Abyssal? The same captain who almost had in locked away in the brig a few minutes earlier? Did Alec Baldwin just hijack a billion-dollar attack submarine? That part has always bothered me. Oh, and why is the final battle play out like Snoopy versus the Red Baron? How do the three submarines detect each other even when they're traveling at flank speed? If the Red October is really "deaf as a post" in her baffles, how does it's sonar manage to detect a torpedo coming in from astern on three separate occasions? They make a big deal about "staying the baffles" repeatedly during the movie. Few things nag me more than a movie that breaks it's own rules.

Okay, enough complaining for now. It just sucks when one of your precious childhood memories deteriorates with age.

03-25-10, 11:33 AM	#1
Subnuts The Old Man Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,658 Downloads: 14 Uploads: 0	'The Hunt For Red October' isn't aging well Ever love a movie to death when you were young, and re-watched it as an adult and couldn't get into it anymore? For me, I think The Hunt For Red October suffers from that problem. I used to watch it over and over when I was younger, getting caught up in the "big submarines!" aspect of it not really caring about the plot. I watched it again the other day for the first time in about three years. Good acting all around, great score, some nice tense setpieces...but I just couldn't get myself wrapped up in it like I used to. I don't know why this movie doesn't do much for me anymore...and Sean Connery's accent doesn't really bother me at all. The whole film has this glossy, staged feel, and I can't suspend my disbelief and accept I'm watching more than just actors on a sound-stage, or models in a giant fog tank. Look at the titular submarine's control room - it's the size of a basketball court, plated in chrome, and has more blue and green-colored lights than an average disco. Some of the special effects in the last reel are horrendous, even for 1989. There are glowing white matte lines around the torpedoes and the final scene with Connery and Baldwin looks like a mid-90s FMV video game. I guess I'm just spoiled by movie like K-19 and Das Boot where they went out of their ways to make the interiors accurate. Now, maybe I'm just bitching about the visual aspect of the movie, but there are pretty big plot problems as well. How did that DSRV end up on the Dallas in the 20 hours between it's run-in with Red October and Ramius evacuating the sub? How does Jack Ryan, a CIA defense analyst, tell the Captain of the Dallas to change course to the Laurentian Abyssal? The same captain who almost had in locked away in the brig a few minutes earlier? Did Alec Baldwin just hijack a billion-dollar attack submarine? That part has always bothered me. Oh, and why is the final battle play out like Snoopy versus the Red Baron? How do the three submarines detect each other even when they're traveling at flank speed? If the Red October is really "deaf as a post" in her baffles, how does it's sonar manage to detect a torpedo coming in from astern on three separate occasions? They make a big deal about "staying the baffles" repeatedly during the movie. Few things nag me more than a movie that breaks it's own rules. Okay, enough complaining for now. It just sucks when one of your precious childhood memories deteriorates with age. __________________ My Amazon.com reviews