ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

jhr2012 Found this title on Netflix and to my surprise it was a good choice. It's a very entertaining movie with a great cast. It's an interesting story that manages to create a lot of tension. Ed Harris is great as the captain. Overall, a very good choice that should keep your attention throughout.

Scott LeBrun The always rock solid Ed Harris shines as Demi, a veteran officer in the Russian Navy. His comrade Markov (Lance Henriksen, in a much too brief cameo role) sends him out to sea, as commander of a sub, and some last minute passengers tag along. One of them is Bruni (David Duchovny), a rogue KGB agent, and you just KNOW that his agenda is going to be dubious and scary. Tensions run high above the sub as the men are forced to confront the idea of going to war with America.First, let's get to the debits. Going by other IMDb reviews here, it's clear that writer / director Todd Robinson either didn't do much research, or else he just didn't give a damn. There are a bunch of inaccuracies. We could start with the fact that we've got a largely accent-free American cast playing supposed Russian characters, but that's just stating the obvious. The special effects, admittedly, could have been better. Thankfully, they don't detract too much from the experience.The story is set up as being inspired by a real life incident which could indeed have begun a nuclear war; to this day the facts of the matter are apparently kept under wraps by both the Americans and Russians. This does make for some reasonably watchable drama, action, suspense, and excitement, along with the appeal of a classic submarine thriller in the Hollywood tradition.While almost everybody here is completely unconvincing as a Russian, you can see that the performances are still quite engaging - for the most part. Duchovny isn't enough of an actor to bring a lot of gravitas to his villainous role, but Harris and William Fichtner (as Harris' reliable XO) pick up the slack. Harris projects perfect authority and you do believe him as a leader of men. Johnathon Schaech, Jason Beghe, Derek Magyar, Sean Patrick Flanery, Jason Gray-Stanford, Julian Adams, Kip Pardue, and Jordan Bridges (son of Beau B.) co-star. By the way, Adams plays a character named Bavenod, which is close enough to (Boris) Badenov that you can't help but smirk every time his name is uttered.Overall, a decent and enjoyable flick with a fairly clever ending. Just be prepared to suspend a sizable amount of disbelief.Seven out of 10.

blanche-2 I can't be as critical of "Phantom" from 2013 the way some of the more knowledgeable people here are. I read with interest the comments from an actual Russian, and I do think had they hired a Russian consultant it would have been more accurate. However, since I wasn't aware of any of that while watching it, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the film.Inspired by actual events, Ed Harris plays Demi, a Russian captain who, had he not been from a prominent family, would have been long gone after a major screw-up that lost lives. During the incident, he suffered an injury which has caused him to have seizures.In command of a submarine, he is approached by men, led by David Duchovny, who say they are on the submarine to carry out a secret mission. It turns out to be the testing of the 'Phantom' which cloaks the submarine and fools the enemy into thinking the sub is from another country.Demi knows that he's only commanding a sub because the Russians did not want his family shamed, so he also knows that no one in the KGB or anywhere else would choose his sub for a top secret mission. So who are these people, and what is their real purpose?Filmed in a submarine, while this film isn't as good as Das Boot or some other sub films, it's quite exciting, and Ed Harris, David Duchovny, William Fitchner, and Jonathan Schaech all are terrific.My only quibble is that I did pick up one thing the Russian reviewer did - there is a man with claustrophobia on the sub who refuses to do something he's asked to do. A claustrophobic wouldn't be in that job, and I don't even think would be on a submarine. I'm claustrophobic and you couldn't get me in one above water, let alone below.The subject of accents came up on the message board as these actors spoke without accents. Yes of course they did. They were not speaking English, but Russian -- not English with a Russian accent.This film is a good reason to read up on what went on during the Cold War, and a K-129 disappearance in the Pacific in 1968. There is a very scary scenario set up in this film which anecdotally appears to be true. It was a dangerous time.

miker-629-691895 An underrated, under-appreciated tale of tension at sea. While i am always a sucker for the kind of built-in drama afforded by movies about men helming an iron coffin surrounded by tons of seawater, this one is no less notable than its counterparts. More than adequate performances by Ed Harris, David Duchovny, and several other notable actors, it is worth watching, and casts a sympathetic face on the pre-glasnost Soviet Union.You should know beforehand that the actors make no attempt at sounding like Russians. While this seemed jarring at first, I realized that even if they did have an accent, they would still not be speaking English! So I just chalked it up to artistic license, and quickly forgot about that self- imposed requirement. I suggest you do the same, and enjoy this feature for what it is. While it doesn't offer much new, especially in the wake of superior (and higher budget) similar films, it fulfilled this WW2 fan for a couple of enjoyable hours.