Crimson Tide

Onboard a US nuclear submarine, a young executive officer (Denzel Washington) clashes with his grizzled captain (Gene Hackman) over the launch of their missiles without confirmation.

Crimson Tide is a well-produced thriller with a great cast and an above-average script.

Director Tony Scott brings delivers his usual slick polish, building tension while maintaining a feeling of action through the use of moving camera shots and unusual angles. While the submarine sets don’t feel authentic per-se, they feel authentic in the ultra-macho world Scott creates around them.

The cast is top-notch. Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman are a great pair and the crackling tension between them in the climactic scenes is dynamite. Supporting players Viggo Mortensen and James Gandolfini are also excellent. In fact, there isn’t a weak link among the players.

But what sets Crimson Tide above the countless other military thrillers is the script. Michael Schiffer’s screenplay does a good job of avoiding clichés in Hackman’s character. Instead of painting him as a paranoid Captain Queeg ala The Caine Mutiny, Schiffer goes to great lengths to paint him as a noble man who, in his own way, is just as right as Washington’s character.

That said, what really nudges Shiffer’s script to the next level are the uncredited polishes down by Robert Towne, Steven Zaillian, and especially Quentin Tarantino, who’s signature pop-culture and movie-centric references spring up throughout the film and go a long way toward elevating the dialog from the standard alpha-male/techno-military banter that predominates the genre.

All this adds up to a slick thriller with a great cast and bursts of surprisingly refreshing dialog. Granted, the finale is a little drawn out, but that’s about the only real knock on what is otherwise a top-notch genre entry.