Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Not shipshape and Bristol-fashion, but worth seeing
I love submarine films, so I was quite excited to find a film based on a true story. "Widowmaker" is based on an incident from the Cold War in 1961 that was kept secret until the Iron Curtain was raised in the late 80's. The Russians wish to fire a nuclear test missile to up the stakes in the game of nuclear brinksmanship. According to their reasoning, showing that they had advanced nuclear capability by launching a missile from a nuclear submarine would stop the US from a pre-emptive attack. Thus the stage is set for "K-19", a Soviet sub under construction, about to be launched to undertake this important mission. But is the ship cursed? Men had died while building the sub in dry dock, the christening has an omen of ill-fate, and even the captaincy is under a cloud, several clouds. And then...well, I don't want to give away any surprises, but let's just say that problems build up from dry dock to launch to the K-19's maiden voyage. The problem with "Widowmaker" is that the film is not directed with snap and tension-- contrasted to "U-571", a sub film that had tension down to a fine art. Nor is the acting so exquisite; Harrison Ford plays a dour captain, but seems to think "dour" means "wooden" (well, he DID work as a carpenter for part of his life, so this is understandable.) His emotional range is narrowly focused here. I think Harrison made a narrow emotional range a conscious choice here to show the struggles of a man with a troubled past trying to control himself to an acceptable level. However, this meant that it took a lot of time to figure out when the Captain was being very deeply emotional and when he was just merely morose. Liam Neeson annoyed me with his attempt at a Russian accent (not only didn't it sound like Russian, it DID sound like a Dutch accent. Which annoyed me even more.) The background music is somberly funereal; yes, we know that radiation on a submarine could be bad for the sailors, and that all the other incidents weren't a picnic in Gorky Park, either. But the soundtrack had me about ready to weep, beat my chest and put on sackcloth and ashes. However, if you like submarine films, I still recommend trying this one. It is a nice addition to the genre and I enjoyed knowing about the historical incident and seeing it as a drama, even with all the flaws of the film. It's pretty good, but don't expect the level of "U-571" or "The Hunt for Red October."
Rating:  - Breathtaking
This movie is excellent. The music is fantastic, Harrison Ford's performance is very good, but evryone else's was great.
The story is very intense and will hold anyone to their seats up until the end.
The reactor couldn't go thermonuclear, ok, but it could very easily explode (RBMKs have positive void coefficient), maybe set off the bombs the sub was carrying, scattering fallout, taking the US destroyer and start WW III, so, before putting down the reactor problem, get you facts straight.
Rating: - Competent, well made Cold War thriller
"K-19: The Widowmaker" sailed into theaters in July 2002 and quickly sank, despite Harrison Ford's being in command. Ford's action thrillers are usually boxoffice winners, but the public may have seen this one as a war movie, of which there were several earlier in the year. While it takes place on a Russian submarine at the height of the Cold War, it belongs more to the thriller genre than the war genre. While less compelling than "13 Days", another film based on true events from the Cold War, but it is quite competent and often exciting. ... A crew with divided loyalties aboard a badly built boat. The movie follows the terrified crew's desperate attempts to save K-19 and themselves. Ford and Neeson, as well as Peter Sarsgaard [who plays the officer in charge of the reactors], are quite good. They are hampered with Russian accents, along with the rest of the cast. The accent was an unfortunate choice, I think. It's unnecessary because every character in the movie is a Russian presumably speaking his native language. Since the audience knows this, the accent is superfluous and distracting. Despite this flaw, "K-19" is decent entertainment that also makes some good points about mankind's mad pursuit of dangerous technologies.
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