'Ridley makes films for posterity. My films are more rock 'n' roll.' ~ Tony Scott

In the political atmosphere of the mid-2020s it’s bracing to revisit Crimson Tide, Tony Scott’s rollicking mid-1990s take on post-Soviet era international threats. The film recalls a time when Russia was the enemy of the west and the USA was the leader of the free world, a situation now upended by a rogue US president and his spineless MAGA wolfpack – truth surely is stranger than fiction. Crimson Tide is centred on a tense two-hander, a conflict between a bright, younger Executive Officer and a crusty, veteran submarine Captain, peerlessly played by Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman respectively and augmented by a fine supporting cast.

Russia is in a state of near civil war, destabilising its relations with the rest of the world and US nuclear submarines are deployed to monitor the situation and react if necessary. Captain Ramsey (Gene Hackman) recruits a younger officer, Ron Hunter (Denzel Washington) to act as his Executive Officer on the assignment and they lead the USS Alabama to waters off Eastern Russia. They soon receive orders to engage their nuclear missiles against Russia, but a second order is interrupted and Hunter pleads with Ramsey to reconnect with their base to verify the second order was not rescinding the first. Ramsey is intent on acting on the first order and Hunter relieves him of command. A power struggle ensues as they come under attack from an enemy submarine.

Tony Scott has taken a credible scenario and imbued the action with his trademark moving camera, quick cutting and fluid lighting to create a compelling world for the wordplay to take wings. The fighting is as visceral in the verbal battles as it is when the torpedoes inevitably cut through the ocean seeking to create havoc in an already unbearably tense and claustrophobic environment. It’s a classic ‘old bull versus new bull’ trope but with the fate of the planet resting on the result. Polish cinematographer Dariusz Wolski shot the superbly choreographed piece and never lets the tight surroundings inhibit him from making each set up fluid and opening up the space so that the camera can seemingly dance where it will – a cinematic magic trick he carries off for Scott brilliantly.

The gloss and style of Tony Scott’s films sometimes obscures or sublimates the drama, but not here, and that is thanks primarily to the great cast. Several supporting actors put in notable work, especially James Gandolfini, Viggo Mortensen and George Dzundza, bringing the peripheral characters to life with flair, taste and commitment. The stars, however, are the main meat and both are in great form and deliver at every level. Denzel Washington was in the middle of carving out an outstanding career as a leading actor and he fits the part like a glove, imbuing it with class and authenticity without losing ground to his formidable costar. Gene Hackman is generous enough to not dominate the scenes, even though he’s playing a domineering character, and that is Hackman’s strength as an actor, finding dimensionality to each character he plays and placing his art in service of the project. Hackman is mesmerising and effortless, a reminder of why he was one of the rare generational talents in American cinema.

Scott’s razor focus on clarity of tone and his ability to keep the central arguments clear and present makes what could have been a ‘procedural’ into a heart stopping drama and grand Hollywood entertainment. Hackman and Washington’s great chemistry and artistry also elevates an action, genre film into what could otherwise be a brilliant Broadway play, supported by a pulsating and exceptional score from Hans Zimmer. Quentin Tarantino was brought in to pump up the dialogue with ‘pop culture’ references, which mostly work – the Gandolfini quiz about old Hollywood submarine films like Run Silent Run Deep and The Enemy Below, the Star Trek references, but the odd racist dialogue between the leads at the denouement falls flat. Tony Scott had filmed Tarantino’s True Romance prior to Crimson Tide, and the racially charged dialogue in that film is a high point that is not repeated here and it allegedly threw a wedge between Washington and Tarantino.

Politically, it’s interesting to see a film that starts by positing that Russia has a president accused of being an American puppet, instead of the opposite reality that we experience in the mid 2020s. Scott uses the Cold War tensions to fuel the drama on a macro scale, but the drama fires best between the two stars and that’s a key component that he never loses sight of. In many ways Scott both pays homage to classic Hollywood submarine films and reinvents them through relentless motion and seamless cinematic fluidity. If Das Boot is the gold standard, gritty sub flick masterwork (and it is) then Crimson Tide is the full polish, costly blockbuster focused on grand entertainment rather than grimy authenticity. Crimson Tide is to Das Boot as 2001 A Space Odyssey is to Tarkovsky’s Solaris.

Tony Scott had a too brief career and produced several compelling pieces of work, including a couple of modern gems in Enemy of The State and Déjà Vu, and one wonders what he could have done if he’d lived further into the CGI or AI era. He had an acute visual flair and a feel for tempo and rhythm at the faster end, and for characters that stayed with you after the end credits rolled. Crimson Tide is an excellent example of his work and a great excuse to watch two pros like Hackman and Washington going toe to toe.