Hunt For Red October, The (Blu-ray)

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"The Hunt for Red October" was the first novel by novelist Tom Clancy and the first film adaptation of a Tom Clancy novel. Starring Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan and Sean Connery as Russian sub commander Marko Ramius, the film was the first of a series of big screen adaptations of stories featuring the Jack Ryan character. As was the case with each of the four films produced by Paramount, "The Hunt for Red October" takes some liberties with the original story before translating it to the big screen. However, "Red October" stays truer to the novel than any of the successive pictures and remains today the highest praised of the four films. While "Red October" cannot dethrone the incredible Wolfgang Petersen film "Das Boot" as the benchmark ´submarine film,´ "The Hunt for Red October" is among the elite films about underwater warfare.

This maiden voyage of Jack Ryan finds Alec Baldwin in the lead role as a CIA analyst attached to gathering intelligence on the Russian submarine Red October that is believed to be equipped with an ultra silent caterpillar drive. The submarine is feared by American intelligence because it will have the ability to run silent enough to avoid detection and could launch nuclear warheads from the American coastline as a first strike weapon. Ryan and the CIA becomes alarmed when the Red October´s first captain, Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) decides to defect with the nuclear boat and his actions spark a full deployment of Russian military might as they desperately try to find their lost submarine in a series of actions that places fear among American leaders that the Russian´s may be preparing for war or Ramius is intending to launch his warheads against American targets.

The intentions of Ramius are unknown to the CIA, but Ryan feels strongly that the Russian captain wants to defect with the Red October and her caterpillar drive. CIA director James Greer (James Earl Jones) believes that Ryan could be correct in his assumption and sends the former Marine to the USS Enterprise, where he is reluctantly greeted by Rear Admiral Painter (Fred Thompson) and then transported by helicopter in rough seas to the assault submarine USS Dallas. The Dallas had been in pursuit of the Red October since their sonar operator Jones (Courtney B. Vance) noticed a peculiarity in noise that allowed him to track the silent running ballistic missile submarine. The Dallas´ captain Bart Mancuso (Scott Glenn) is not happy with having to surface and pick up Ryan, but does so. Ryan talks Mancuso into ignoring Washington´s orders to sink the sub and they make contact with Ramius and the crew.

Onboard the Red October, Ramius must concoct a plan to hand over the submarine to the Americans, but convince the crew that something is wrong with the sub so that they will evacuate her. He cannot let the crew into his intentions to defect in order to avoid a mutiny. However, a saboteur is onboard and does not intend to allow Ramius to follow through with his plan and hand over the Russian Navy´s greatest prize to their enemy. Ramius is being followed by the Russian Navy, which has also been given orders to sink the Red October and the veteran captain must use all of his experience to escape his own Navy and the destruction of the sub. He must also work with Ryan to get the Americans onboard secretly with enough of a crew to set sail for a secret destination in America. Being chased by two superpowers and not sure of who to trust, the fate of the Red October becomes a thrilling adventure.

"The Hunt for Red October" is a thrilling affair that nicely balances the technological and strategically aspects of submarine warfare with a compelling storyline and convincing characters. The film does take some liberties with the storyline and I´ve never been fully comfortable with the film´s plot turn which places Jack Ryan onto the Red October. After reading the novel, it feels hokey and places far more focus on the Ryan character than what should be. "The Hunt for Red October" was the first Clancy novel I had ever read and the book instantly hooked me and perhaps I feel betrayed by this change in the story, but I´ll never be in complete acceptance of this change by screenplay writers Larry Ferguson and Donald Stewart.

Director John McTiernan proved he could handle directorial duties with "Predator" and his experience comes through as he is able to bring plenty of action to a film where technology and brains easily supplants brawn. He levels the playing field with "Red October" and brings to the camera enough intelligence to satisfy many that loved the novel, but never overburdens the audience with too much techno babble. The pacing of "The Hunt for Red October" is also a strong asset of the film and as the story continues, the suspense builds to a point where the climax is able to satisfy and not disappoint its viewers. Many films with this much strategic discussion and exposition tends to drag on for long periods of time and while there are a couple few yawn-inducing moments with "Red October," they are far and few between and provide a well deserved break from the strong story.

Aside from McTiernan, the cast and crew are at the top of their game with "The Hunt for Red October." Cinematographer Jan de Bont created a strong looking film that never felt confined to the innards of a nuclear submarine. He would later move on to direct films such as "Speed" and "Twister," but the cinematography work on "The Hunt for Red October" is among his best work in Hollywood. The primary actors of Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin are both very good. While I prefer Harrison Ford in the role of Jack Ryan, that is not because of Baldwin´s performance, but my preference of actor. Baldwin may actually provide the best performance as Ryan and he is able to convey the intelligence and action required for the role. Sean Connery is a legend and while he doesn´t give the best Russian accent in the film and sometimes doesn´t seem to be trying very hard, his performance is very good.