Hunter Killer (2018)

Summary: In the far north an American submarine is tracking a Russian when both are damaged, the Russian by a torpedo exiting the interior of the sub and the American being destroyed by it. The submarine USS Arkansas is sent out to investigate and manages to rescue some survivors from the Russian sub. Meanwhile some US Seals are on a clandestine mission to Murmansk where they witness the Russian president being taken hostage by a renegade admiral who intends to start international conflict. The Arkansas is tasked with getting into Murmansk and rescuing the president. But to get into the port they need the help of the Russian submarine captain. Can he be trusted, and can the mission be successful?

Content: There is no sex or nudity, or drinking or smoking.  There are a lot of under the sea scenes with one submarine tracking another, and at one point during the Arkansas rescue it is fired on by another Russian and releases anti-torpedo things. Time is spent in the operations centre in the Pentagon, where we see the admirals arguing and the CIA lady laying down the law. We and the admirals can see what is going on in Murmansk due to the wonder observation devices deployed by the Seals. Also a lot of fire fights during the rescue and a seaborne duel between the Arkansas and a Russian destroyer.

A View: When I was a boy I used to be irritated by the fact that British submarine films never showed any outside views of the subs, while American films showed many. In this film the undersea scenes are there in spades and to start with I enjoyed them, but as they became more and more ridiculous my interest waned. And I know it’s fantasy, but a plot where the Russian president (not Putin) is rescued by the daring Americans was just too much to swallow. As usual I was defeated by the illogical logistics, in this case the fact that the American submarine, was able to enter Murmansk with great difficulty, but then was able to travel in and out of the port with no problems, for the benefit of the drama. In summary you might have this on while doing something else.

There have been a number of submarine films reviewed on this site, including: Black Sea, Kursk and Below. They are all very different.

There have been a number of submarine films reviewed on this site, including: Black Sea, Kursk and Below. They are all very different.