A Masterpiece!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I wanted to like this film. Sadly it got off to a bad start when all the actors decided to play fast and loose or not at all with their Russian accent. It was as if they tried to do something at the beginning and then said "aw... screw it. we aren't fooling anyone" and then dropped the accent entirely most of the time. You can put it behind you eventually but it's a sign about how sloppy this film is made.The premise is that Ford's character is a bit of a bully who will take out of proportion risks and endanger the lives of everyone on board to prove his point. I did not see any resolution between Ford and Neeson's character. And in terms of what plays out that I won't say - I never saw it coming. And that's only because where the film went was not what the prior time led you to believe. In fact, everything pointed in the other direction until it felt like Hollywood stepped in because the script said "insert turning point here" and then the characters had to pretend as if this was the natural next sequence of events. It wasn't.The special effects are fine and the submarine shots reasonably good. But the repair involved was also ridiculous. It was as almost as if they ran out of budget and would show you the same thing, with everyone having a go at what they were fixing which seemed more like "designated piece of metal". OK, we'll get beyond that but it still bears notice as you watch repeated scenes of the same thing as if to convey a sense of emotional impact on certain characters - which I didn't find credible.This is nowhere near Das Boot to feel the tension. And it's not really meant to be. And as a "based on a true story" it's very, very lightly based on the true story. Most of the acting is fine but the script is a real problem. And I don't think Harrison Ford would have himself cast as anything else but smelling like roses. And that's also disappointing. At no point do I think the conclusion of this film is even remotely foreseeable because the natural flow of the characters and events simply doesn't get you there. It's done solely to keep the audience guessing what happens next and the very artificial Hollywood studios twist makes for a mediocre, phony feeling film that certainly would only stand up for one viewing, at best.

K-19 is the story of a Russian nuclear submarine that bites off more than it can chew; hastily rushed into production, the sub goes on a operational mission to test-launch a nuclear missile. Problem is that their reactor malfunctions and turns them into 1.5 megaton H- Bomb waiting to happen. The engineering crew has to resort to desperate/suicidal measures to get the problem under control.This is a fine premise for a thriller plot, and indeed Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson turn in their usual outstanding performances. The problem, however, is that the movie seems somehow a bit overdone. The action is accompanied by a sweeping romantic film score that often seems to impose its will and intrude on the action. Some scenes are done with a flair for melodrama and overacting that takes away from the outstanding human story.Still, it is a decent popcorn muncher.

Long after Harrison Ford was Han Solo, he was Captain Alexi Vostrikov, and long before Liam Neeson was Brian Mills, Qui Gon Jin or Oskar Shindler, he was Captain Mikhail Potenin in "K-19: Widowmaker"For sown unknown reason I don't like submarine movies, I just find them slow moving and dull (That includes "The Hunt For Red October") "U571" is the only exception. Ford and Neeson are always watchable though, so I decided to give it a go when it was starting on TV tonight. Plot In A Paragraph: It's the height of the 1960's Cold War, and Russia launches the K-19, a flagship nuclear submarine. Aboard this submarine are Captain Alexei Vostrikov (Harrison Ford) and executive officer Mikhail Polenin (Liam Neeson) who is popular amongst the crew. Tension run high between the two, as they clash on regularly occasions . When the vessel's nuclear reactor system begins to leak, the two men and their crew must become brave countrymen to avoid a disaster.It was what I expected it to be (OK I didn't expect either of them to go with dodgy accents) a slow moving tension filled movie on a sub. Though it was a refreshing change to see a movie where Americans were not the brave heroes. The ending didn't fill me with the anger it should have (which was a shame) and I'll probably never watch it again, as whilst Ford and Neeson are as watchable as always, but these are not two of their finest hours.

This movie was originally suggested to me by my father, and at first I thought it was going to be some boring, predictable film. I was presently surprised by how good this film was. The acting was impeccable, the action was unpredictable, and lasted for a very good while,and was hurled at you very quickly. The emotional scenes did their job, and the suspense kept me grabbing on my seat waiting to see what happened. That being said it is not perfect. Who the bad guy is is never really established, and there seems to be almost too much suspense and I waited for a long time for the plot to be resolved. There are scenes, which may be historically accurate, but are irrelevant to the plot itself. Finally, the action, which I mentioned earlier, does not really occur until at least 1/3 of the way through. These do not take away from the movie that much and it is definitely worth the two hours of watching it.