Phantom - C

Rated R, 97 minutes

"Phantom" is tense but unsatisfying sub thriller

David Duchovny

It's been awhile since we've had a submarine drama, but less a great submarine drama, and uneven, mildly entertaining new submarine drama "Phantom" only will make you yearn for "Das Boot" or even "Crimson Tide." Ed Harris is the captain of a Cold War Soviet missile submarine who is rushed into a classified mission, where he is haunted by his past and challenged by a rogue KGB group (led by David Duchovny) bent on seizing control of the ship's nuclear missile and starting World War III. Based on a true classified events and directed by Todd Robinson ("Lonely Hearts"), "Phantom," which derives its name from the stealth aspect of submarine warfare, its peppered with some tense moments, but it turns too elegaic in its final act, not to mention the characters are too distant and (no pun intended) shallow. Those who look to realism may also be disappointned in the fact that in this Russian tale, there is no Russian language, dialect or accents from any of the actors, which isn't as bothersome as the fact that the uneven film posseses little warmth or character to set it apart from the great aforementioned sub dramas like "Das Boot" or the 1995 Denzel Washington thriller "Crimson Tide." Harris and Duchovny, for what its worth, are serviceable as is character actor William Fichtner and while there is some decent amount of tension in the final act, it otherwise fails to provide any emotional or dramatic depth of those earlier sub dramas, and "Phantom" seems mostly dead in the water. This is a red-box rental for sure.

Wes's Grade: C