Rent The Hunt for Red October (1990)

A Cold War thriller film that suddenly feels highly topical again... - The Hunt for Red October review by Philip in Paradiso

In November 1984, Marko Ramius (Sean Connery), an officer in the Soviet navy, is given command of a new ballistic missile submarine called 'Red October'. It is equipped with a 'caterpillar drive', making it undetectable to existing sonar systems. Ostensibly, Ramius leaves port to conduct exercises with other elements of the Soviet navy in the North Atlantic, but the submarine soon goes rogue. No one knows for sure what Ramius's intentions are. Has he gone insane and does he intend to attack the USA? Or does he intend to defect to the US side? Both the Americans and the Soviets are frantically looking for the super-advanced submarine.

This Cold War story may have felt rather dated only a few years ago but it must be recognised that, in 2023 (as I am writing this), it feels more topical than ever, with Russia being pitted against NATO over the future of the Ukraine... This is the kind of submarine cat-and-mouse game that we have seen before, but with various twists along the way. The lead actors are good, including Alec Baldwin as a CIA intelligence analyst, and there is plenty of suspense right through the movie. The film is generally good and entertaining. However, I have seen other such films that are far superior. 'Das Boot', for instance, is in a different category altogether.

Overall, I found 'The Hunt for Red October' ultimately too implausible for the story to genuinely grab me. (There is also the issue of language, with Russian and English alternating among the Soviet naval personnel to lend credibility to the story without having to use subtitling, and it only half-works: Captain Ramius is supposed to be Lithuanian and speaks English with, well, a strong Scottish accent.) So, it is a good film, but not an essential one.

Well told tale - but badly dated - The Hunt for Red October review by RP

Based on a Tom Clancy novel, this is one of series of stories whose central character is Jack Ryan. There have been a dozen or so books and four films have been made. The films are 'The Hunt For Red October' (1990) in which Jack Ryan is played by Alec Baldwin, 'Patriot Games' (1992) and 'Clear And Present Danger' (1994) in which Harrison Ford played the role, and 'The Sum Of All Fears' (2002) in which Ben Affleck took over the reins.

'The Hunt For Red October' also stars Sean Connery and several other big name actors and is a moderately gripping tale of the attempted defection of a Soviet submarine commander and his officers as his boat is chased by the Russian navy. I say moderately gripping because in my opinion the film has dated badly – the Cold War is long past, the USSR is no more, and military relationships between East and West – although never cosy – are far more relaxed. Indeed, even when the film was made, Mikhail Gorbachev had already introduced his policy of glasnost (openness) which started to normalise relationships between the superpowers.

That apart it's a well told tale – if it has a further flaw it is that Sean Connery is a powerful character actor (even if he does always play Sean Connery) and completely upstages Alec Baldwin and the other players.

I'm aware that 'The Hunt For Red October' is regarded by many as the best of the Jack Ryan films, but personally I prefer the two Harrison Ford variants. Each to his own – I'll give it 3/5 stars.

Great Thriller Film - The Hunt for Red October review by GI

A thrilling action thriller based on Tom Clancy's first novel and a story involving espionage, political intrigue and submarines! There's not been a better naval battle film since Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Sean Connery dominates the film even though his performance is typically very subdued and Alec Baldwin plays a young Jack Ryan after Harrison Ford turned the film down! Superb support cast including James Earl Jones, Scott Glenn and an underused Stellan Skarsgård. Fans of the novel may decry the loss of some of the books narrative set pieces and occasionally the film feels a little rushed but this remains a great entertainment and is a worthy member of the Jack Ryan franchise. So here we have a Russian submarine commander (Connery) on the maiden voyage of the new nuclear super sub Red October. The Russians tell the Americans that he has gone rogue and intends to fire his missiles at the USA and ask for their help to sink him pronto. But humble CIA analyst Ryan (Baldwin) thinks that he has other plans! A film to check out if you've never seen it.