Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Ed Harris | ... | Demi | |
David Duchovny | ... | Bruni | |
William Fichtner | ... | Alex | |
Lance Henriksen | ... | Markov | |
Johnathon Schaech | ... | Pavlov | |
Jason Beghe | ... | Dr. Semak | |
Dagmara Dominczyk | ... | Sophi | |
Derek Magyar | ... | Garin | |
Sean Patrick Flanery | ... | Tyrtov | |
Jason Gray-Stanford | ... | Sasha | |
Julian Adams | ... | Bavenod | |
Kip Pardue | ... | Yanis | |
Jordan Bridges | ... | Sonar Operator | |
Jacob Witkin | ... | Priest | |
Matt Bushell | ... | Sentry |
The Cold War has cast an ominous chill over the entire globe, and when a Soviet submarine targets the U.S. Navy's Pacific fleet for nuclear attack, it appears that the final battle has begun. But Captain Dmitri Zubov has a choice - one that could pull the world back from the brink of annihilation. Meanwhile, it begins to seem as if other forces are at work on Captain Zubov's submarine. Now, in the depths of the South Pacific, Captain Zubov will fight to reconcile his past in order to ensure that there will be a future. Not just for him, but for every man, woman, and child on the planet..
Much is made of perceived weaknesses in "Phantom," most notably the absence of Russian accents. This doesn't bother me, certainly no more than watching anything by the BBC in which everyone, regardless of character nationality, has an accent found somewhere in the British Isles. I'm not familiar with the minutiae of Soviet era submariners, so I can't suitably critique the proper etiquette or uniform details. Looked accurate enough for me to accept it. If you're willing to look past that, you'll be able to enjoy a competent, if slightly derivative, submarine flick. Frankly, it's worth watching for the performances of Ed Harris (the sub captain) and William Fichtner (Harris's second in command) alone. They carry the movie, and, in my case at least, kept me watching through to the end. David Duchovny, as the rogue KGB agent is a little harder to accept, but I suspect that has less to do with his performance than my own inability to not think, "What the hell, Mulder?" every time I see him. The supporting characters do their best with what they have, and honestly, I admire anyone who can work in even a mock submarine's space. Ultimately, this movie is about sacrifice, whether on the part of the family separated by military service, or the things one is willing to do for the sake of one's nation. If you've actually read this far into the reviews, or even this far into this one review, I think you'll be engaged enough that it won't be a waste of your time to watch "Phantom," especially if you can see it via whatever instant service you use. Like it says above, it's not "Das Boot," but really, what else is?