I honestly didn't think this was too bad. It's most obvious weaknesses are the very poor special effects, which over and over give a very cheap, low-budget feel to the movie. Having said that, the story - while it perhaps lacked the action that modern sci-fi viewers have come to expect - was not bad. Essentially, there's a mystery involving a number of Maritime disasters that have occurred in the Arctic Ocean, and the atomic submarine Tigershark is sent to investigate. Upon its arrival, it discovers that the disasters are being caused by a flying saucer with a somewhat ridiculous looking alien on board who has plans for his species to colonize the earth. If that sounds familiar, it's probably because it's the plot for about 75% of the episodes of "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea!" The Tigershark doesn't seem as advanced as the Seaview was, but you can certainly see this as a direct ancestor of that movie/TV series. The performances here were all right, if at times a little dry. The attempt to create tension between Reef and Nielson didn't work that well, primarily because I just never understood the level of antipathy Reef seemed to have, the ultimate solution as the submarine faced off against the flying saucer seemed in the end a bit too simple and easy, and the last scene was a little bit too corny, quite frankly. Overall, though, this was an enjoyable enough experience. 7/10
Review of The Atomic Submarine
