K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)

Did you people see the same film I saw?

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

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: The Widowmaker is a story that is based on true events set during the Cold War Era. The Russians are carrying out a series of tests out in the Atlantic when their reactor ends up badly damaged which results in several crew members being badly exposed to radiation. As a result Captain Alexei Vostrikov (Harrison Ford) and his crew must put everything they learnt into practice to prevent a catastrophic nuclear incident from occurring.I knew very little about this film when I started watching it, but quickly became interested when I learnt that it was 38 years after the events had taken place that anyone was able to talk about what had happened - the fall of Communism was what allowed this story to be told.The issue I had with this film is that it really only has three components to it; there's all the drills and training that we see (early on with Neeson and his crew) then later out at the sea with Ford in charge of the mission. Then there is the failure of the reactor and then we have the final sequence of events and the ending. Bigelow stages the action well and the various close ups, claustrophobia and obvious pain that we see from some of the men did help to at least keep me involved in what she's put in front of me. The problem I had with this film is that it was a tad repetitive - the drills and training kept me involved for about 30 minutes, but when you're seeing the same thing for about an hour it does start to get a bit boring. The second half focuses on the reactor breaking down and again it adds excitement and intensity, but again only in short bursts. If you have 120 minutes worth of film that only focuses on two things then you really need to make these two things compelling, exciting, intense and/or entertaining for at least the majority of the time. Sadly, K-19; The Widowmaker doesn't do this consistently enough making it a very much hit and miss affair.There are some positives here and firstly it has to be said that Neeson and Ford were both very good here (even though their Russian accents were a bit dodgy): both men play-off well against each other and the power struggle that they face against each other make their scenes interesting to watch. Bigelow's direction is superb, the cinematography is excellent and the action sequences are framed together very well. The final sequence of events are also very moving.K-19: The Widowmaker isn't a bad film, but it is a little repetitive and drawn out and for those reasons it isn't entirely successful across its 133 minute running time. It's worth a look for historical reasons, but it's far from being a great film.

Let me start by saying I loved this film. I believe Liam Neeson and Harrison Ford were excellent as Russian captains. The movie takes place in 1961, the Russians have a new nuclear submarine. Before it leaves it is to be christened. Once the champagne bottle is released, it fails to break. All the men of K-19 were shocked. This is usually a bad sign. The crew continues to get prepared to leave. Before leaving there is an accident involving a crew member, and one of the crew has to be replaced due to being drunk on duty. The crew led by Capt. Alexei Vostrikov( Harrison Ford), and Mikhail Polenin(Liam Neeson). During this time it is the height of the Cold War. K-19 is heading toward American waters. It seems all is going well until Lt. Vadim Radtchinko(Peter Sarsgaard) notices the temperature start to rise outside the nuclear reactor room. The controls signify there is a small leak starting in the reactor room. Radtchinko relays this to Polenin, and Vostrikov. The crew must stop it before a disaster like Hiroshima happens. Polenin decides the men must work in shifts, but it keeps getting worse. When going to get the proper equipment the sub only has chemical suits, no radiation suits. The situation gets worse the men know they are doomed, but they must control the leak for a chance of survival. The men go in two's, 10 minutes max in the reactor room. They continue this until the leak is somewhat controlled. All the men take their turn except the Lt.(Sarsgaard) he freezes which doesn't look good, the men, and Polenin are disappointed. They do get the leak slowed down, and it holds for awhile, but eventually it begins again. This time it is worse, and Radtchinko vows not to let the Captains or the men down. He goes in, and tries to control it himself. The crew is hot, suffering from radiation sickness; and the readings are off the chart. Thus begins the waiting game until help can arrive. Once K-19 reaches American waters, The U.S. Navy offers assistance, but Vostrikov refuses. Making the men and Polenin wonder why. Vostrikov says he will not turn his back on Mother Russia, he will not be guilty of treason. The crew is suffering, they arrest Vostrikov and make Polenin lead captain. Polenin at first looks as if he will take this honor, but instead backs his captain. Polenin releases Vostrikov, and those that try to stage the munity I believe are arrested.. This is where I feel Vostrikov is suffering from radiation sickness, and Polenin is probably in the beginning stages. The men are dying, and almost all of them have high radiation levels. From this point the leak gets worse most men are too sick to work in shifts, and the radiation levels keep rising. Vostrikov suffering from radiation sickness, realizes he needs to get his men off this sub ASAP. He calls Moscow, but the request gets denied. He tells Polenin he wants them off ASAP. Polenin reminds him it would mean the end of his military career for in subornation. At this point Vostrikov doesn't care, in awhile another sub comes; and helps rescue the men. The men are decontaminated, and taken aboard. After the rescue Polenin, and Vostrikov get checked at the hospital along with their crew. Once they are able, a trial for in subornation begins. The damage is done, a lot of the men aboard the K-19 eventually end up losing their lives which Vostrikov and Polenin will live with forever.This story is based on a true story, and for 28 years the survivors could not tell their story until the fall of Communism in Russia. I really liked this film; and though I am a huge Neeson/ Ford fan; it was the story that draws you in. The bravery, and sacrifice the crew went through, for the love of their Country was amazing. This film is action packed, from the beginning to the end. A story the world got to know, and the lessons learned from it.THX, Kris L. CocKayne

This one is worth picking up.Going to get something out of the way that for some reason people are saying: Nuclear weapons don't accidentally go off, HOWEVER, those are weaponized, not a nuclear core in the first Russian nuclear submarine that no one truly knew how to run (hence the drama). They didn't know how things would react and the project was rushed, enough said.That out of the way, this movie is slow but fast enough for you to not be bored. Camera work and acting is above normal and there is enough drama that you wont want to turn the movie off. I'm not going to go into a great deal of detail because it is a classic sub story that just so happens to be inspired by real events. Aside from that, there is nothing new, exciting, out of this world thing that has never been done before.My one major complaint, while nitpicking and not really impacting the review rating is that the cast could have spent more time practicing their accents. Neeson might as well have been American to be honest.7/10