Crimson Tide

The premise here is simple; Gene Hackman is the captain of a submarine, Denzel is his second in command. They receive an order to launch the nuclear warheads they have on board, but then receive a second incomplete transmission. Gene thinks they should fire the nukes, Denzel thinks they should wait.

There’s a crystal clarity to this film that is very appealing. The writing is excellent, the visuals are just so clean, and Tony Scott flexes every muscle to really make the story sing. I always love his slightly over the top style full of mad Dutch angles, it can be really hard to find a voice in a huge blockbuster but he always managed to put his stamp on his films.

The stakes are as high as they are ever going to get - make the wrong call and it’s total annihilation - and everyone in the submarine is sweating buckets thinking about it.

It’s the classic claustrophobic, paranoid, anxious submarine setting crossed with the slickness of the best 90s Hollywood thrillers. As the centre of it you have two acting heavyweights who give great performances that give the characters some much needed extra dimension.

RIP Gene Hackman, may you live forever on the screen.