K-19: The Widowmaker Reviews
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A tightly paced and efficiently performed submarine thriller about which there is absolutely nothing original save the fact that the protagonists are Russian, this epic-scale production will satisfy only those who have never seen any other military suspense drama set aboard a submersible. For those who have seen such films as Crimson Tide (1995), U-571 (2000), Das Boot (1981), The Hunt for Red October (1990) and a host of other noble men-trapped-in-tin-cans-below-the-sea nail biters, K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) will feel like a rehash at best. Despite its obvious craftsmanship, the only truly intriguing aspect of this bloated production is the science involving the boat's near-nuclear meltdown and the sacrifice that must be made by her engineers to save the rest of the crew and, potentially, the world. Talk about heightening the crisis--but none of these heroic characters are the protagonist. Instead, the audience is treated to a dog-eared soap opera involving the bruised feelings of a demoted skipper (Liam Neeson) and his conflict with a hard-headed political appointee (Harrison Ford), whose determination and bullish single-mindedness of purpose are never explained, leading to an unmotivated "duh!" of a character reversal that's supposed to play like a rousing, three-cheers moment. An overlong act three (the film feels as if it's about to end--and should--no less than three separate times) capped off with a cemetery coda cribbed from Schindler's List (1993) leaves the entire enterprise feeling enervated and top-heavy. K-19: The Widowmaker, in addition to its awful title, is celluloid proof of two things: that Hollywood exists solely to recycle and cannibalize itself, and that if the filmmakers haven't figured out who to root for, the audience certainly won't either. Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
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