There are movies that really fool you into thinking you've really been to the location depicted. That's one of the best bits about Crimson Tide. Made by Tony Scott, who also directed Top Gun, this is a more mature story aboard a United States nuclear missile submarine.

There's huge tension in this film. You believe you're on that boat. You believe the world could come to the end. And you say to yourself, "Thank God this is only a movie!"

I haven't felt this realistic about a movie since another submarine movie, Das Boot. This is tight writing, tight acting, tight setting, and tight editing. There's a 15-minute jaunt into a classic "Scotty I need warp speed now." "But Captain, me propellers are offline!" that we could have done without.

Slight Suction!

Film Facts

Cast
• Denzel Washington
• Gene Hackman
• Matt Craven
• George Dzundza
• Viggo Mortensen
• James Gandolfini
• Rocky Carroll
• Jaime Gomez
• Michael Milhoan
• Scott Burkholder
• Danny Nucci
• Lillo Brancato
• Eric Bruskotter
• Rick Schroder
• Steve Zahn
• Marcello Thedford
• R.J. Knoll
• Billy Devlin
• Matthew Barry
• Christopher Birt
• Jim Boyce
• Jacob Vargas
• Kai Lennox
• Michael D. Weatherred
• Tommy Bush
• Earl Billings
• Mark Christopher Lawrence
• Michael Chieffo
• Ashley Smock
• James Lesure
• Trevor St. John
• Dennis Garber
• Vanessa Bell Calloway
• Brenden Jefferson
• Ashley Calloway
• Daniel von Bargen
• Richard Valeriani
• Warren Olney
• Rad Daly
• Sean O'Bryan
• Victor Togunde
• Troy A. Cephers
• Armand Watson
• Brent Michael Goldberg
• Scott Grimes
• Ryan Phillippe
• Dale Andre Lee Everett
• Angela C. Tortu
• Ronald Ramessar
• Robin Faraday
• Bob Stone
• Henry Mortensen
• Chris Ellis
• Gerald Emerick
• Jason Robards

Directed by Tony Scott

Released in 1995

MPAA Rating: R

Reviewed by Mongo