Cool News
Pole of Justice takes in K19: WIDOWMAKER
Hey folks, Harry here... I see this one tomorrow... then Wednesday I get a double bill of Anthony Mann westerns at the Paramount theater in Austin before heading off to Seattle. Hehehehe... Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Can't wait! I'm hoping to like K19 tomorrow, I've heard some people liking it, some hating on it and some being in the middle. I have no idea where it'll hit me, but I'm pulling for Han and Qui.
Heya, ThePoleOfJustice here to babble about more
stuff & spoilers, but no surprises.
OK, K19. I have to say that the previews didn't
exactly inspire me. I guess that's a hazard of being
forced to see everything: stuff that might normally
generate a bit of interest just kind of sits there.
People comparing it to THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER didn't
exactly make me do cartwheels either, although I like
that film (quick aside: has our cultural memory become
so shallow that it only allows for one film per idea?
M. Night didn't invent people seeing ghosts with THE
SIXTH SENSE, and not every submarine film is RED
OCTOBER. )
So, onto the film. Well, the first hour is a wash.
There is not one single frame of the first 60 minutes
that you have not seen before, repeatedly. Good Men
voicing Respectful Dissent against an Unlistening
Authority, soldiers kissing girlfriends through a
fence before going off (well, THAT guy's gonna die)
Etc. There's even one guy who keeps a pet mouse.
Guess what happens to it?
Not promising. Everyone absolutely sleepwalks through
the first act. There's even one scene where the sub
dives, and the main characters (Harrison Ford and Liam
Neeson, in case you didn't know) don't even bother to
lean. Guess they couldn't be bothered.
Things pick up considerably after the first hour, when
a leak in one of the nuclear reactor cores threatens
massive nuclear catastrophe. Maybe it was because I
was so lulled into complacency after the first part,
but the members of the crew exposing themselves to
radiation was immediate and flat out thrilling.
Deeply disturbing, as well. (Reminds me of the
Midnight Oil song, I forget its name: 'When the stuff
gets in, you can not get it out.' I was scratching my
face unconsciously after that.) And I have one name
to mention: Peter Sarsgaard. He plays the novice
reactor commander, and he does wonders with a
hackneyed and very, very generic part. There is a
scene where he panics and begins to cry, and he walks
the line between spineless and sympathetic flawlessly.
More of him, please.
After that, the film oscillates wildly between sharp
and sappy, often within the same scene. The basic
plot points can be seen a mile and a half away, but
(very) occasional flashes of originality cause you to
not care for a few seconds. There's even a bit where,
clichÈ be damned, you really start to think that
Harrison Ford's commander might really be off his
rocker. He's not, of course (that would be too--I
dunno--CHALLENGING.) But it's nice to have the
momentary doubt.
The ending is a full ten minutes too long. This was
directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who also directed STRANGE
DAYS, another movie that went on about ten minutes too
long, so maybe there's a trend there. The
performances, save Sarsgaard, are
going-through-the-motions uninteresting. The accents
are horrible, but not too intrusive (although I swear
that Ford sounded more Irish than Russian a few
times.) So, totaling up the plus column: great half
hour somewhere in the middle, not intelligence
insulting. The minus: too long, too generic. The
plus wins out -- barely. We're talking a wafer thin
margin. I didn't expect much, so I can't say I was
disappointed. I wouldn't dissuade anyone from seeing
this, but it wouldn't come to mind if I was asked for
recommendations. Maybe the promotional tagline could
be: K19: It's Not A Waste Of Time.
Ah well. PoleOfJustice out.
-
+ Expand All
-
Well then...
-
I have free passes to see K19, or I should say HAD, because I've got a stupid meeting tonight and had to give them to my mother to use. Drat.
-
I believe the Midnight Oil song with the line 'When the stuff gets in, you can not get it out.' was called 'Harrisburg'. Just in case anyone was interested. Hello? Anyone?
-
Put buildings or rainstorms in a science fiction movie and fanboys scream, "Blade Runner ripoff!" Put computers in a science fiction movie and fanboys scream "Matrix ripoff!" Put martial arts in a science fiction movie and fanboys scream "Matrix ripoff!" Put a twist ending to anything and fanboys scream "Sixth Sense ripoff!" I know. Let's put all the fanboys on a big island and give al Qaeda a map to it with a pointer reading "entire Bush administration on vacation here, no security."
-
I haven't seen the movie yet - just the previews, but when the previews include such thrilling, never-before-seen items such as the two top dogs yelling at each other, and the top dog saying "Dive to [x] meters," one of the sailors saying "but she can't hold up to that kind of pressure!" and the top dog responding "do it anyway!" Man, I wonder what happens! I've never seen the likes! MUST SEE THIS MOVIE NOW!!! Not. Ha ha ha! NOT! Get it!? Aren't I original! ...ahem... sorry. Anyway, this review confirms my fears. Bring on Indy 4 and put Harrison back in the role he was made for (if he's not too old for it now...sigh...)
-
on your successful posting of "First", an achievement which no doubt can be credited to hard work, determination and skill. No class of individual on AICN is regarded with greater admiration than the "First" poster. You are the elite, the vanguard, bravely blazing a trail into an empty talkback, heedless of the danger, to provide those less hardy souls who follow with the shining beacon of those five letters. God bless you, sir.***On topic, this still looks interesting to me. I wonder how the pairing of Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson will compare with Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington.
-
I must recognize comic genius when I see it. Bravo.
-
I have seen Midnight Oil twice,own all their Albums and I just want to say that they are a fuckin brilliant band.As to the film,yeah,I'll go and see it if only for the effects[mind you derek meddings underwater effects are the best!]
-
Jul 16, 2002 10:44:46 AM CDT
Yeah, well Its the first Russian submarine move in 14 years star
by weedymcsmokey
Shallow cultural memory indeed. Thanks for the review POJ, you seem to hate the same films I do.
-
Just once, I'd like to see a sub movie that didn't have a scene where everyone waits nervously to see if the power comes back on so the sub won't sink past "hull crush depth" or whatever it's called. Is it possible to make a submarine movie that doesn't involve this scene??? Does K-19 have a mutiny scene and a "get the crew fired up" scene??? Hasn't everything already been covered up and down with Das Boot, Red October, Crimson Tide, that made for TNT movie about the first sub, and U-571? Why did K-19 have to be made anyway? Bah!
-
interesting review. i for one am looking foward to this film b/c i'm a sucker for those submarine movies. i love "hull crush depth" and all that jazz. there are several reasons to look foward to this movie. it has harrison ford and liam nesson in it. that should be enough. it is about an even in russian history that was forbidden to even discuss until now. and for me, although i enjoyed THE SUM OF ALL FEARS it left me feeling a little flat by the end. i believe K-19 will be the political tension thriller we've been waiting for...and harrison knows how to deliver those. (PATRIOT GAMES, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER) of course the russian accents are a little...fake. oh and to the guy who posted about the "first" guy...funny. oh and to the guy who posted about the dialouge between liam and harrison about george lucas...funny but a mute point since THE PHANTOM MENACE and ATTACK OF THE CLONES were fantastic and liam's charachter was "wooden" as you phrased it and harrison's character thought all religons were "strange religons." man how the hell does every talkback on this site end up going back to STAR WARS?
-
Hull getting crushed? Check. Mutiny? Check. Mournful choir on the soundtrack as someone walks towards certain death? Check. Sensitive guy freaking out at key moment? Check. Etc. I joked with someone before I saw this that I got the feeling I could write the script right there, on the spot, sight unseen. And, except for the way the nuclear meltdown was handled, I could've. Also, yeah, I've seen Midnight Oil only once, and they were great, although Peter Garrett did this weird thing where he would spit in his hand, hold it for a few minutes, then put it back in his mouth. That was really, really distracting, and a little gross. And thanks to McClane for figuring out the song title...I don't have 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 anymore, and the title was gonna bug me...I knew it was a town's name, but...BTW, National Geographic (!) had something to do with the production of this film. Is this their first foray, or have they had their hand in others?
-
imploding upon reaching the hull crush death, followed by 60 minutes of camera tracking of an single solitary air bubble. The pop of the air bubble upon reaching the surface reflects the failure of the Soviet nuclear submarine program.
-
Perhaps you are all forgetting that this is a TRUE STORY. It's not that some Hollywood exec said, 'Hey, let's say that there's this Russina sub. Let's call it the K-19...' There actually was a K-19 and this is the true story of its maiden voyage. Sheesh! Do a little research before you go spouting off!
-
First off, I don't recall anyone saying the plot was "thin." Cliched, yes, but not thin. And it was BASED (I'll say it again, BASED)on a true story. While I can't say I did any real research on what actually happened, I seriously doubt that it occurred exactly like a Hollywood movie. The complaint is the sheer lack of imagination in executing the plot, not the plot itself. Considering how amazingly free of originality this was, I would make an educated (an extremely confident)guess and say this was HEAVILY fictionalized. Real life ain't this cookie cutter.
-
Jul 16, 2002 9:19:30 PM CDT
Not to pull the trigger on this flick before I've seen it, b
by ralph cifaretto
What else can a writer or a director (or an actor!) do with this kind of flick? Maybe we need a decade off from these films.
p.s. Crimson Tide is one of the greats in this genre. -
Yes, its based on a true story... but I'm not going to see this movie , just based on the trailer.. it seems that they like to ignore basic rules of science. From the trailer, once the reactor started to have problems, they were worried about it
'going up'
'like Hiroshima'
'1.4 megatons'
yield of the hiroshima bombs aside, sub reactors dont go up like nuclear weapons.. power type reactors can overheat, can melt down, but *if* one explodes, its not a nuclear explosion, its just pressure release. Most kids in 9th grade scince class know that. The central 'problem' of the plot is pure hollywood embellishment.
-
Jul 16, 2002 9:41:21 PM CDT
Please....no Depth Charge Scenes... please... i beg you...
by jackburtonlives
you've all forgotten the other cliche: the obligatory depth charge scene. they give the cameraman a few shots of jack daniels and tell him to play twister for about 10 minutes while the actors fall about, yelling, "wow! that was a close one!". the worst was U-571. i think the depth charge scene ran up to FIFTEEN EXCRUTIATING MINUTES LONG. and that's a long time, when you know how it's going to end. the depth charges always miss.. the captain then decides to eject some oil and the body of the one hapless sailor who died earlier on, thus tricking the enemy battleship commander to drop his guard/give up the chase blah blah blah. this old plot rehash was used repeatedly in WWII movies and even in a couple star trek episodes. i wonder if it was ever actually used in combat? nah... doubt it.
-
Whose idea was it to cast Harrison Ford as a Russian sub commander? I look at the trailer, I look at the poster, and I have high doubts that I'm going to buy him as a Russian. Neeson at least is a character actor. Ford has made a career of playing patently American characters. I haven't seen the movie, but he sticks out like a sore thumb (it will probably do alright simply because he's in it). Ford should have taken on that role Douglas took in Traffic. To me, that was the moment when I wrote Ford off as an actor. I've heard that Ford is known for meddling with the script and I'd guess that's why he didn't want to do Traffic, but that's all speculation. I'd love to see him just get back to basics and do an important role in a movie by Soderberg or Wes Anderson or PTA. He's never been a great character actor, but he's definitely got more to him than what we've been seeing in his latest films. Unlike a lot of you, I'm not all that eager to see him revisit his role as Indiana Jones. I love Indiana Jones, but I don't want the last Indy film to be Ford's "swan song". This next Indy film is going to be the end of Indiana Jones as we know it. I'm sure in a few years, after Ford is old, or dead, they'll remake it. Or they'll use the movie to launch another franchise. But Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones to me. I think Raiders is what a popcorn film is really supposed to be. Popcorn films have come to mean stupid fun, but I like to think that popcorn films are supposed to be smart fun - they're supposed to be clever. Getting back to Ford, what kind of actor wants to go out on a franchise? The whole idea of Ford doing the last Indiana Jones movie is painting a sunset for Ford's career - and it just kills me to think people are only going to remember Han Solo and Indiana Jones. I think he is capable of much more - he's proved it with The Mosquito Coast, Working Girl, Witness, Blade Runner, Presumed Innocent, Regarding Henry (don't laugh). Playing a Russian is interesting, but it's putting Ford in a no-win situation. He's an action hero, but he's a Russian character with a bad accent. Place your bets now how fast this movie is going to tank after opening weekend.
-
Jul 17, 2002 12:25:48 AM CDT
NewYorkKid, I didn't want Ms. Bassett to sit on my face, but
by superninja
I agree she ruled in that movie. I love Bassett, and I'm very disappointed that she's dropped off the radar for so long. She needs to be working - and a lot. Bassett made a comment to the press that she turned down the Halle Berry role in Monsters Ball because she didn't want to play into the stereotype of black women as whores. So maybe she's holding out for something worthy of her talent. I'm not going to fault her for having integrity. But it KILLS me to think this woman is not getting parts because she's black.
-
Is there a scene where everyone on the sub has to be really quiet for fear of being picked up by the enemy who are floating just inches away? How about a scene where the Captain and Qui Gon fight over the missle launch keys? Those are two of my favorite sub-movie cliche' scenes.
-
Jul 17, 2002 1:24:15 AM CDT
(spoiler, again, kinda) Wow, a cliche that WASN'T in the fil
by thepoleofjustice
...was the quiet or the enemy will hear you thing. The mission was a "secret" demonstration of capability, not an actual attack, so their one contact with the Americans had no real tension. And since the only reason they're out there is to fire this dud missle as a "test," we're spared the obligatory guys wrestling over the keys sequence. However, it is worth noting that these two cliches were prevented by the most basic elements of the plot. I'm sure SOMEONE took a meeting trying to squeeze these two in...also, to the person who wondered why Ford was cast in the first place, well, he's one of the producers. Maybe he cast himself?
-
of this relentless Harrison Ford bashing! We've had it from Harry, Moriarty and now in this review (albeit much more subtle). Who the hell are any of you to judge the choices this man makes in terms of the direction his career moves in? Yes, "Traffik" is a masterpiece and I think Ford would have kicked ass, but for whatever reason he clearly decided that he wasn't right for the part and he stepped aside. That was 3 or 4 years ago, let it go already!! As far as Ford not taking challenging roles gotes that is utter bullshit! What do you call "Witness," "The Mosquito Coast," Presumed Innocent" or "Regarding Henry?" Hell, the man played against his hero image and played a killer in "What Lies Beneath" now I'll concede that is one of his lesser films but is nevertheless an enjoyably creepy thriller. In fact I contend that over the past decade he's one I ONE movie that I consider a certifiable dud and that's the unfortunate "Random Hearts." Although I think is that case it was the script which was nothing more then a shallow, predictable soap opera that was more suitable for the plot of a Lifetime made for TV flick then a major motion picture, but he was fine in it. But he is capable of being so much more then merely being "fine" that's no excuse. Everyone is entitled to mistakes and that was a mistake on Ford's part no question. But once again I say get over it!
-
Jul 17, 2002 6:23:15 AM CDT
Almost any Hollywood movie would be dramatically improved if you
by douglasah
Some examples: Gladiator - He works his way to the top of his "craft" in order to get close to the Emperor, and then he kills him when they meet. THAT is the ending, turn the movie off and back away from the DVD player and no one gets hurt. Titanic - An old woman throws Goose's dogta...I mean, a priceless diamond, into the sea. This is the thanks Bill Paxton gets for reuniting her with the portrait her true love drew of her, and bringing back all those memories. Ungrateful bitch. On second thought, keep the long ending, but rewrite it. Bill Paxton goes apeshit and throws HER into the sea. AI - Enough has been said about this, already. Moving on... Minority Report - He kills the guy, Pre-Crime works, etc. THAT is a film noir ending, and THAT is the ending Philip K. Dick gave this story. Spielberg should go back to writing his own damn stories if he's going to adapt someone else's work unfaithfully. Every minute of the long-ass, drawn-out ending we got instead feels like six hours. Alien: Resurrection - Right up until freak-Ripley fell into the floor, this was still an Alien flick. The minute we're introduced to the baby alien, it becomes a Roger Corman log of dog droppings. Shanghai Noon - Now, I love this one, but what was that dumb blond on Jackie's shoulder thinking when he let the bad guy live in the mining camp? What part of SHOOT HIM! do these morons not understand? I guess they needed one more action set-piece, and it didn't matter to the writers who came off looking like a total pansy for it.
-
Of all the studios, fox is the bar none worst with relations to the fan community. They have shut down more sites and projects than I can count. They probably only read this site to watch for the 1 moment when it posts an unauthorized simpsons or xfiles pic or sound so they can shut Harry's ass down. This is one of the worst moves they could possibly make. They just screwed the whole franchise. Ghey.
-
Jul 18, 2002 1:00:37 AM CDT
CASTING CONFIRMED!!! NEWSFLASH ***SPOILER WARNING!!!!
by jackburtonlives
i just heard it straight from the horse's mouth that Harrison Ford has been slated to play Elvis in the sequel to Bubba Ho-Tep. not even harry knows about this one yet. but it's been greenlighted. ford is already working on a hybrid of his russian accent to play the 80 year old southern elvis accent.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Antepenultimate THRONES!! Lane Pryce Returns To MAD MEN!! Roger Waters On 60 MINUTES!! Plus GIRLS, VEEP, SIMPSONS, BURGERS, KILLING, METALOCALYPSE, SHERLOCK!! THE LAST SUNDAY OF SWEEPS!! -- 100 total posts 100 posts
- Duncan Jones To Tell The Story Of Ian Fleming! -- 62 total posts 62 posts
- SNL Says Goodbye To Kristen Wiig!! -- 53 total posts 53 posts
- Hercules Picks Next Season’s 10 Most Promising New Broadcast Series!! -- 128 total posts 50 posts
- The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day will traumatize you. -- 37 total posts 37 posts
- There Can Be Only One... Ryan Reynolds?! -- 403 total posts 34 posts
- Dan Harmon Done As COMMUNITY Showrunner!! -- 144 total posts 26 posts
- Quint thinks John Hillcoat's prohibition-era flick LAWLESS is violently awesome! Cannes 2012! -- 69 total posts 22 posts
- BATTLESHIP Was A Definite Miss For Raven McCoy!! -- 97 total posts 18 posts
- While Jackie Chan seems to be retiring from Action Films, his son Jaycee Chan is warming up with DOUBLE TROUBLE! -- 53 total posts 18 posts