The Hunt for Red October Movie

Synopsis

A Soviet Captain of a new submarine and his officers have gone rogue. The question for Jack Ryan and the CIA is whether it is for malicious purposes or to defect.

Review

This movie holds up really well. It came out in 1990 right after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the USSR. However, there is a lot here that matches what happened, and it does a great job of staying true to its namesake, The Hunt for Red October. Right off the bat, I can tell you that they removed all the co-operation and presence of the British from these events, but it doesn't really take from the story.

Alec Baldwin is an "ok" Jack Ryan. For sure not my favorite, but there could have been worse choices. I think for the time and how the character is written in the book, he does make a better choice for the studious and almost nerdy version we have from the book. I mean, not everyone can be a 6-pack ripped John Krasinski in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. However, his interactions and chemistry with Sean Connery are exemplarily.

This movie is a quintessential spy movie. This is the type of movie I think about when I think about a more drama focused spy movie and less action oriented. You have a lot of politics, drama, and mystery that keeps you focused on the events taking place, without the constant action scenes that we would get more than likely now.

My Rating

Watching this after reading the book, I can understand the common mentality of "Books are better than movies" especially when comes to movies that come from books. I also don't like that they try to imply that this is based on a true story. Feels very much like The Davinci Code when it was trying to say that it was based on a true story. Maybe one event in that whole thing would be true, but that doesn't mean the conclusion is true. It was fun to see these well established actors really in their prime and tell a good story. I had fun and have no real complaints. This is an 8.

Parental Rating

I know my Dad likes this movie. I watched part of it with him years ago. The language is light, there is really only one section of violence, and there is no nudity or sex. There really is nothing offensive that would stop my mom from watching, it just isn't her content. Approved by Dad and Approved by Mom (By the narrowest of margins).

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