The Hunt for Red October

I was thinking the other day about heroes: fictional characters that bring us through the hardest of times only to prevail over the utmost evil and sinister acts. In terms of action heroes, we have the Terminator, an epic savior robot sent back in time to save the future leader of the human resistance. John McClain, a sassy New York cop, has saved us and thwarted evil plans from German terrorists in the Die Hard series. Even Sgt Martin Riggs and Sgt Roger Murtaugh have brought us through the Lethal Weapon series. But after mentioning these, I noticed that a great hero was left to the wayside, not remembered for his epic climb from young analyst to president of the United States. This man’s name is Jack Ryan, known in his first of four films The Hunt for Red October.

I would argue that Jack Ryan is one of the most underrated epic action heroes of all time. Though I will only talk about the first in the series, the character is continued in Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and (unfortunately, and only in this case) The Sum of all Fears.

The Hunt for Red October follows the beginnings of Jack Ryan’s career involving the US Navy, and all the happenings of the cold war. A soon to retire Russian Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) has stolen a brand new, scientifically advanced, silent running submarine. He declares his intention to defect to the United States, and sets sail for the US coast. The Russian government, in response to the threat of their technology falling into the hands of the Americans, informs that Ramius has gone insane, and plans to fire missiles on Washington D.C. Jack Ryan is called in to help analyze the situation, and communicate with Ramius. He becomes involved in a grand plot to save Ramius and his crew, while fighting off US government officials with sole intent to sink the sub (Red October.)

Written first as a novel by author Tom Clancy (Rainbow Six series, Jack Ryan series, Splinter Cell) director John McTiernan (would you believe it, director of Die Hard,) brings these characters to life. What happened to this style of action film? The majority of the film takes place either on US Naval vessels or within the three submarines (US, 2 Russian.) We as an audience feel compacted, tight, constrained. This helps the film fuel its imperative nature to escape from danger. Visually, it’s very strong. We are brought into a military world that most of us have never experienced. And more over…it’s made so well that we really do feel we’re trapped below the surface of the ocean, navigating through canyons, avoiding torpedoes and sabotage by Russian agents.

Additionally, the soundtrack, supplied mostly by Russian choir music, supports the dark, wet nature of this film. Overall, we feel a pressure upon us, a tight sense that time is running out. And although our hero is young, he is brave, witty, and most important, intelligent.

Supporting cast for this film sealed the deal: Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan, Sean Connery as Marko Ramius, Scott Glenn as Captain Bart Mancuso, James Earl Jones as Admiral James Greer (who went on to play his character in both Patriot games and Clear and Present Danger,) Tim Curry as Dr. Petrov, and Fred Dalton Thompson as Rear Admiral Joshua Painter of the USS Enterprise.

If you’ve not seen this 1990 action film, or any of the other Jack Ryan series, I’d check them all out. Well, with exception to The Sum of All Fears, where are good friend Ben Affleck single handedly destroys the character. The Hunt for Red October is by far one of my favorite action films of the 90s, and to this day seems to be underplayed, and underrated. When we think back to all the action flicks of the 90s, we think of those names mentioned above. Well, I think Jack Ryan needs to be included in that. Check this one out, and make a bag of popcorn. This is what action films used to be like, before Mr. Denzel took hold. 7 of 10.