A rebel uprising in the Soviet Union interrupts a pleasant birthday party as good friends Lt. Ron Hunter (Denzell Washington) and Lt. Peter "Weaps" Ince (Viggo Mortensen) both get immediately called into service. "Weaps", short for weapons since that's his post, is stationed on the U.S.S. Alabama, whereas Hunter is about to be. Captain Frank Ramsey (Gene Hackman) is a very difficult man to serve under and the position of Executive Officer has just come open. Hunter comes highly recommended for the job and from the interview process on, it is clearly apparent that the two men come from completely different schools of thought when it comes to matters of war. Ramsey has seen combat time and is all about the show of power, whereas Hunter takes a more clinical approach and prefers patience and research.
The boat is sent towards the Soviet Union, armed and ready, as the Russian rebel forces have taken over a base filled with nukes, however they lack the authentication codes needed to arm the missiles. Not long into their mission, a galley fire breaks out and a man is killed, during which Ramsey runs a missile firing drill, which is a complicated matter. Hunter doesn't understand why he'd do something like that when the sub was still at risk and questions his motives in front of the men. This doesn't sit well with Ramsey.
During the course of their journey, the rebels obtain the authentication codes and the order is given to fire the nukes. Shortly thereafter, a Russian nuclear sub is spotted in the area and the two do battle. While the U.S.S. Alabama is able to neutralize the enemy, they do take some damage, not the least of which is their remote radio capability. During the fray, a message was sent and because of the damage, they only received the first part of the message. It is unclear what the intent of the message was, but they know it was regarding the strike. Ramsey believes they should go full force with the first orders they received, whereas Hunter believes it is more prudent to repair the radio and find out if the strike was called off. If it was called off and they strike anyway, World War III is a sure thing as the Russians will strike back.
When Hunter, as the Executive Office, must concur for the order to continue and he refuses, Ramsey orders him arrested. However, since Ramsey was essentially declaring martial law and overstepping his bounds, Hunter declares him arrested and names himself captain of the ship. This doesn't sit too well with some of the men who have served with Ramsey for years, namely Lt. Bobby Dougherty (James Gandolfini) and Lt. Roy Zimmer (Matt Craven), who rally several of the other officers and men under them to release the captain and overtake Hunter. They need Weaps to do this because he has the keys to the armory and Weaps is torn between his loyalty to his captain and his friendship with Hunter. Weaps finally gives in and they set out to restore command to the captain.
In the midst of all of this chaos, due to damage the sub received, water is flooding a lower area of the sub and the three men below trying to repair it are at serious risk. Hunter makes the difficult call to seal the area and Lt. Hellerman (Rick Schroder) is forced to do the deed. It is heartbreaking to watch as he begs for his men to surface and be saved, but then finally seals their fate below. Not only that, but the propulsion power goes down and the sub begins to sink. When it hits 1850 feet, the ship will give in to the pressure and fold, so it is a race against time for the men to fix the propulsion power, which is eventually restored but not before some nail-biting moments.
When Ramsey is reinstated as captain, he imprisons Hunter and his men. Ramsey then decides to manually launch the nukes, but Hunter is rescued and sets out to stop him. It is quite the game of cat and mouse as Ramsey and crew race to the part of the boat that holds the launch button and Hunter and group race to the area Ramsey just vacated. The showdown between the men is tense as you have guns pointed in all directions like a John Woo film. And a gun on a sub is a scary thing.
The verbal sparring between Hackman and Washington is excellent and the action is intense. The cast is filled with faces we readily recognize now, but back then, they were kind of new on the scene. Among the cast are Ryan Phillippe (Crash), Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings), Steve Zahn (You've Got Mail), James Gandolfini (The Sopranos) and Rick Schroder (Silver Spoons) and all are absolutely terrific in their roles. Produced by the king of all action movies, Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Tony Scott (Déjà Vu, Domino), this action-packed flick is a great popcorn movie and with it now being released on Blu-ray, you can catch all those incredible moments in high-def beauty. Among the special features is a collection of the best high-def scenes called Movie Showcase, plus seamless menus and the original features, which include deleted scenes, a really funny look at the behind-the-scenes moments on set (a lot of clowning went on) and a making-of featurette. If you loved this movie all those years ago and never added it to your collection, now is the time.
