The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October Image
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Metascore
58 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 30 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Starring: Alec Baldwin, Sean Connery
  • Summary: A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S. coast under the command of Captain Marko Ramius (Connery). The American government thinks Ramius is planning to attack. A lone CIA analyst (Baldwin) has a different idea: he thinks Ramius is planning to defect, but he has only a few hours to find him and prove it-because the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find him, too. (Paramount Pictures)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 17
  3. Negative: 2 out of 17
  1. Variety
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    90
    The Industrial Light & Magic special visual effects unit does yeoman work in staging the action with cliffhanger intensity.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Sheila Benson
    80
    The production is as clean and effective as Red October herself; there's not one dial or glowing radar screen too many; the underwater hits and near-misses are clearly choreographed and the undersea intensity is captured perfectly by Jan De Bont's camera work. [2 Mar 1990, Calendar, p.F-1]
    All this critic's reviews
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    50
    An idealized, dreamy fantasy of life in the business world-harmless as airplane reading, a bit dull on the big screen. [2 Mar 1990, Friday, p.C]
    All this critic's reviews
  4. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Hal Hinson
    30
    A leviathan bore, big, clunky and ponderously overplotted.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 2 out of 12
  1. Manatee634
    10
    This movie is just great. The fact that it's based on a Tom Clancy novel makes it even better. Sean Connery was great, so was Alec Baldwin. A thrilling climax (no spoilers), I would definitely recommend this movie.… Expand
  2. Compi24
    8
    "The Hunt For Red October" is a 1990 film directed by John McTiernan and stars Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery. The film is adapted from the 1984 Tom Clancy novel about a Soviet nuclear submarine which drops off U.S. scanners, prompting a young CIA analyst (Baldwin) to scramble to find out what the captain's (Connery) motives really are. To start off, I love Tom Clancy. I'm a fairly big fan of his Splinter Cell, Rainbow SIx, and Ghost Recon franchises. I had also heard of "Red October" and that it was directed by the guy who made "Predator" and "Die Hard", so I was already pretty excited to watch this movie. In short, the film did not, in any way, disappoint. What kind of shocked and worried me about this is that this film was filed under the "Thriller" section on Netflix. . .and it's rated PG. Needless to say, this fact sort of worried me. I was wrong though - just because this movie is PG does not mean it isn't "thrilling" in any sense of the word. "Red October" is in fact an "edge of your seat" thriller by definition. Almost every facet of this film is excellent. The script, I found, was very witty and well written by Larry Ferguson. The acting was spectacular, specifically of course from Connery and Baldwin. The score was very awesome and appropriate for the source material. The special effects were very good, especially for the late 80's. I'd say that "The Hunt For Red October" is a solid thriller that will have a hard time disappointing many of its viewers.… Expand
  3. EllaT.
    7
    COOL.
  4. Ravens1294
    2
    It was way too boring...........................................................................................................................................… Expand

See all 12 User Reviews

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