X
- 2013
- R
- XLI41
- 1 h 38 m
- 2013
- R
- XLI41
- 1 h 38 m
Summary The troubled captain of a Cold War Soviet submarine holds the fate of the world in his hands. Forced to leave his family behind, he is charged with leading a covert mission and tested by a rogue KGB group.
Directed By: Todd Robinson
Written By: Todd Robinson
- 2013
- R
- XLI41
- 1 h 38 m
- 2013
- R
- XLI41
- 1 h 38 m
Phantom
40
5.5
Where to Watch
Summary The troubled captain of a Cold War Soviet submarine holds the fate of the world in his hands. Forced to leave his family behind, he is charged with leading a covert mission and tested by a rogue KGB group.
Directed By: Todd Robinson
Written By: Todd Robinson
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 22 Critic Reviews
40
9% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
64% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
27% Negative
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 22 Critic Reviews
40
9% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
64% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
27% Negative
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
In this classy, taut white-knuckler – largely shot inside a real-life decommissioned Soviet sub – Robinson asks us to consider more than the hypothetical possibility that the world nearly ended in 1968. He reminds us that we have no idea how many other near-misses may have happened in the behind-the-scenes history of the modern age and also, more troubling still, that long after the Cold War has faded into memory we continue to have difficulty telling the crazy people from the sane ones.
Ed Harris in Phantom is like Steve Carlton with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1972 — delivering a wall-to-wall, amazing performance that's lost in a sea of dreadfulness.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 22 User Ratings
5.5
36% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
41% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
23% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 22 User Ratings
5.5
36% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
41% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
23% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Phantom is a fictional account of the true disappearance of the Soviet electric/diesel submarine K-129 in 1968. Officially deemed a mechanical failure, the ship's record remains sealed to the public to this day. However, there are reasonable refutations to this explanation- one theory holds that the ship might have been, intentionally or unintentionally, scuttled by its crew. Phantom presents its own take on that idea, by depicting a mutiny with potentially apocalyptic consequences by Soviet political fanatics against true patriots in their navy. It is as intense as any submarine film I have watched, and the stakes just as high. In retrospect it reminds me vaguely of Crimson Tide, though the events depicted are quite different.
The visuals of the movie are excellent. The oppressive lighting, sound and music design and even the look of combined weariness and determination on Ed Harris' face- its a good movie for watching, to be sure.
Much like the film Enemy at the Gates, amusingly also starring Ed Harris, Phantom depicts a largely Russian set of characters, but played mostly by Western, in this case mostly American, actors with no attempt to affect Russian accents. Arguably this works in its favor: the intense delivery of the dialogue might have suffered if forced through a false accent.
Popular response to this film seems to be fairly negative, but I can't imagine why. It's a good movie in its own right, even if some kind of documentary about what happened to the real ship might have been more interesting.
Report
The combination of tight close-ups and jarring camera work might require a dose of Dramamine. Better yet, give this movie a wide berth and check out a superb film set in a submarine, the 1981 classic "Das Boot."
Though pitched as a thriller, Robinson’s woefully underbudgeted film plays instead like a chamber drama, so simple and unadorned that it could just as easily be staged as an off-off-Broadway play without anyone telling the difference. And that isn’t entirely to the film’s detriment, either: With a cast choked with great character actors like Ed Harris, William Fichtner, and Lance Henriksen, less is sometimes more.
The idea of the film is certainly clever enough, it’s the execution that lacks finesse.
The potential for screw-tightening suspense gets lost amid the ineffectual dramatics in Phantom, a feeble fictionalization of a crucial but little-known moment when a rogue Soviet submarine brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
The dialogue is dreadful (though we are at least spared the usual hokey Russian accents) and the wrap-up ridiculous, the only mystery being why this peculiarity was ever greenlighted at all.
Thought the movie was extremely well acted, the scripting tense and tight and with a great forbidding soundtrack. Very pleasantly surprised by the film overall.
Visit - ****/
Report
Good performances by everyone (Duchovny and Fichtner especially), but a slow first act harms the first impression. Some odd details as well (were Soviet captains allowed this level of religion? or a senior submarine tech who has served on subs for years... is claustrophobic?). Visually, Phantom is a close, tight viewing experience, with dials and switches littering the periphery of almost every frame. About half-way through, the conflict between Demi (Harris) and Bruni (Duchovny) comes out into the open, and things pick up in a BIG way (mutiny and submarine warfare). Well-designed tension from there to the (surprisingly poignant) ending.
Worth a watch if you're a fan of submarine movies in general, and a good film when considering the low budget it had. If you were hoping for something on the level of Hunt for Red October or Crimson Tide, though, you'll be disappointed.
Report
Ed Harris stars as a washed-up Russian submarine captain (is there any other kind in movies?). His final mission includes a KBG agent (David Duchovny) with diabolical plans. None of it matters because this is one of the slowest, most talky war movies ever. Since it takes place in the small confines of the sub, tension should be built-in, but the only drama is provided by obnoxious ominous music and painfully portentous dialogue. Even worse, the action is often confusing If you enjoy Cold War sub conflict, you might find it worthy. Otherwise, stay above the surface. NOTE: Look for Johnathon Schaech hiding behind a giant moustache.
Report
Phantom is a B-movie about Soviet submariners consisting entirely of "cranberry". There is less in common with the Sovestit submarine fleet here than in other films accepted to be called "cranberries". If you abstract from this, Phantom is an ordinary chamber thriller. There is not a bad cast, it is not usual to see David Duchovny as an antagonist at least. Phantom doesn't keep you in suspense, even though the movie tries to do it in some scenes. And it seems that everything is not so badly filmed, and the actors are good, but Phantom is a terribly boring movie. I don't want to recommend it to anyone, only as a remedy for insomnia. Phantom is a bad thriller, a bad camera movie. A bad movie even about "Russian cranberries." It's amazing how Ed Harris starred in all this.
Report
Ed Harris has a bad lead performance which is unusual for him, but more importantly its badly written and just all around stupid in every way.
Report
