OK film that strains to be 'gripping'.Gene Hackman is fine as a submarine captain who must battle with the second-in-command (Denzel Washington in an annoying portrayal). The movie dog-paddles along using crummy clichés that are intertwined with familiarizations of other navy flicks like The Caine Mutiny and The Hunt for Red October.The only real question here is which officer (Hackman or Washington) is going to triumph at the end of the film by making the 'right decision' concerning the prospect of the release of nuclear missiles. Script inadequacies include the over-use of expletives and a silly racist element. See this for Gene Hackman's usual solid performance, but really, folks, you've seen this mutiny and submarine stuff before.P.S. Note to the director - and many other directors whom make this same mistake..... Unless they're receiving a citation, MILITARY PERSONNEL DO NOT SALUTE INDOORS!

First off, id like to say that if you know nothing about the military (or you hate it) you will like this movie. If you know anything about submariners, its an absolute joke. NO WAY ANY OF THIS WOULD EVER GO ON IN A NUCLEAR SUB! I was never in the military myself but I have many friends who were and I can tell you that if you bring up this movie around them they will go on for hours about how silly and contrived all the scenes in the movie are. Denzel was in his usual semi-racist (but not too racist) role. Not to mention Gene Hackman playing his usual role of the "conservative" American who is nothing more than the worst human being imaginable. Arrogant, cocky, and of course, stubborn as a mule. Has anyone else noticed that he almost always plays the same character, just different situations? Bottom line is this movie is nothing more than Hollywood liberal propaganda, using the "manly-man" Gene Hackman as their fall guy for the stereotypical evil conservative who just needs to be re-educated (and usually is) in how to be a good little socialist. If you want to see a good submarine movie, see "The hunt for Red October". Otherwise, avoid this tired piece of liberal propaganda.

"Crimson Tide" is a 1995 film Starring Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman. The Tony Scott film involves a first officer (Washington) on a nuclear submarine who clashes with his captain (Hackman) over whether or not they have enough information to perform a first strike on a volatile Russia. As far as, Tony Scott films go, they're sort of hit or miss. I loved "Man On Fire" and "Unstoppable." However, movies like "Deja Vu" and "The Taking Of Pelham 123" are just sort of "meh" for me. This is partly because Mr. Scott made a very strange transition midway through his career. He went from using a really clean and traditional camera movement (as in "Top Gun," "True Romance," and "Crimson Tide") to using this really frenetic and trippy camera style (as in "Deja Vu," "Man On Fire," and "Unstoppable"). Sometimes the latter works, sometimes it doesn't, but one thing that usually has stayed amazingly consistent throughout Tony Scott's career is a brilliant lead performance from Denzel Washington. Tony Scott and Denzel Washington have collaborated together five times, and they've crafted some amazing stuff. "Crimson Tide" is no different here - Denzel sails through this movie with an utterly incredible finesse. However, while Denzel's performance is a force to be reckoned with, the best performance in this film is from none other than Popeye Doyle himself; Mr. Gene Hackman. His portrayal of Captain Frank Ramsey is one of the most menacing performances I've seen him give in a long while. Hackman owns this ship. In terms of directing, this movie in my opinion had everything "The Hunt For Red October" had, yet there was just a tad more. While "The Hunt For Red October" filmed it's underwater combat scenes using trick photography and models in midair, "Crimson Tide" actually shot their model ships underwater and utilized practical special effects on them regularly. While "The Hunt For Red October" had a brilliant score by Basil Poledouris, "Crimson Tide". . .had Hans Zimmer. Finally, while "The Hunt For Red October"'s plot was very interesting and definitely worth watching, "Crimson Tide" managed to be one of the most intense filmgoing experiences for me in a very long time - the fear of a nuclear holocaust is hammered into your head at an almost unsettling degree. White-knuckle film? You don't know the meaning of the term. "Crimson Tide" is an unbelievable film that I will not soon forget.

'Crimson Tide' is a Spell-Binding Film, that truly ranks amongst the Finest films from 1995.'Crimson Tide' Synopsis: On a US nuclear missile sub, a young first officer stages a mutiny to prevent his trigger happy captain from launching his missiles before confirming his orders to do so.'Crimson Tide' is a Terrific Film in all respects. It catches your attention from the Word Go & sustains its momentum till the very end. Michael Schiffer & Richard P. Henrick's Screenplay is superb. Tony Scott's Direction is Top-Notch. Cinematography, Editing & Art Design, are perfect.Performance-Wise: Gene Hackman & Denzel Washington deliver remarkably. Their On-Screen Chemistry is Electrifying! Viggo Mortensen stands out with a brilliant performance. This is among Viggo's best works. Others lend great support.On the whole, 'Crimson Tide' is a must see.