This is the worst Navy movie I've ever seen. I'm a Navy veteran, and although many Navy movies are inaccurate as far as terminology, ship/weapon capabilities, procedures, crew behavior, etc., I cut them some slack because Hollywood knows that most people are not familiar with these things. And, since the story is fictional anyway, dramatic license takes precedence over accuracy. Fine, I can live with that.
What I can't live with is this abortion of a movie. Dramatic license can't even make excuses for this haphazard production. It had a weak plot, the acting was horrible, and the action barely qualified as lame. The fight scenes (choreographed so badly that you can actually see the actors pulling their hits and aiming wide), the explosions and damage to the sub (yeah, OK, not going there), and all the neat stuff catching fire and falling out of place (mostly air or oxygen tanks), were all so horribly carried out that they simply weren't believable. And of course, the bad guys had to do something totally senseless like count down to their moment of glory, making sure that the good guys had lots of time to annihilate them.
Aside from that, the terminology, the equipment, and uniforms, most notably the rank insignia, bore no resemblance to anything I ever saw in my tour. What was the CO's rank, anyway, Super-Lieutenant? For the year of this movie's production, 1990, there is no excuse for this kind of inaccuracy, not even budget. (How much would it cost to use the correct rank insignia?) Ordinarily, military technical advisors are high ranking officers, but any deck seaman from USS Neversail could have provided better technical guidance than was given in this movie. Weapons consoles could have been something better than Zenith Z-248 computers with EGA monitors using corny graphics for about the same amount of money.
It's a wonder that cable channels are even willing to waste the air time necessary to broadcast this... thing. I encourage anyone who sees it to watch it as long as you can take it, just for an educational experience on how to not make movies.
What I can't live with is this abortion of a movie. Dramatic license can't even make excuses for this haphazard production. It had a weak plot, the acting was horrible, and the action barely qualified as lame. The fight scenes (choreographed so badly that you can actually see the actors pulling their hits and aiming wide), the explosions and damage to the sub (yeah, OK, not going there), and all the neat stuff catching fire and falling out of place (mostly air or oxygen tanks), were all so horribly carried out that they simply weren't believable. And of course, the bad guys had to do something totally senseless like count down to their moment of glory, making sure that the good guys had lots of time to annihilate them.
Aside from that, the terminology, the equipment, and uniforms, most notably the rank insignia, bore no resemblance to anything I ever saw in my tour. What was the CO's rank, anyway, Super-Lieutenant? For the year of this movie's production, 1990, there is no excuse for this kind of inaccuracy, not even budget. (How much would it cost to use the correct rank insignia?) Ordinarily, military technical advisors are high ranking officers, but any deck seaman from USS Neversail could have provided better technical guidance than was given in this movie. Weapons consoles could have been something better than Zenith Z-248 computers with EGA monitors using corny graphics for about the same amount of money.
It's a wonder that cable channels are even willing to waste the air time necessary to broadcast this... thing. I encourage anyone who sees it to watch it as long as you can take it, just for an educational experience on how to not make movies.