Some endearing characters played by a few name actors make this a tolerable ride. The great Frederic Forest (Blue Duck in Lonesome Dove and Cook in Apocalypse Now) plays a USN Admiral. However, the lack of competent technical advice made the military side of this submarine action thriller hard to take. On the SSN sub Ulysses, the new XO, we are told, is the youngest in USN history, yet he has --shall we say-- limited social skills. And his immediate subordinate ( a Lt. Commander) derisively refers to him as a "college boy". Problem is ALL USN commissioned officers are college graduates. Hatches are called "doors", lieutenant commanders are called "Lieutenant ", and an ex Navy SEAL also moonlighted as a submarine designer. Prior service guys will find these mistakes--and others like them--a hoot. But if you can say "whatever" and let it ride, it will provide a decent final act for your patience.
19 Reviews
American Ninja meets Under Siege.
tagmand15 November 2020
DIE HARD on a submarine
MichaelM2411 April 2002
As far as I know, this is the first movie to place the DIE HARD scenario on a submarine. Michael Dudikoff plays James Carter, an ex-Navy SEAL (what else?) who reluctantly agrees to save the day when terrorists seize control of a nuclear submarine, the same sub he designed. The movie has a good deal of action that keeps the film going, and the production values (for a B-movie) are pretty good. The use of footage from the producers' other movies for the film's underwater sub action and the special effects of a missile destroying part of a New York skyscraper are a bit distracting, but everything else is pretty well done. It would have been nice to have J*A*G*'s Catherine Bell in a bigger part. The story isn't deep or anything, but it has a good pace that never drags, the action scenes are well-choreographed, and the music has a big-budget feel that helps the film. All-in-all, one of Dudikoff's better 90s films. Look for TITUS star Christopher Titus as the sub's comedic, celebrity-impersonating sonar man.
Horrible
wing_a6 August 2005
This was a really bad movie. It uses every cliché ever known to man, the 'romance' was even less unbelievable than most bad movies, and it was completely militarily inaccurate. Case in point: Catherine Bell's character Lt. Cmdr Lisa Starks was referred to as "Lieutenant" by all other characters. And she answered the phone with "Lieutenant Stark". Uh hello. A Lt. Cmdr is always addressed as "Commander." You'd think that even without any sort of original story line that they would have at least tried to get the technical details right Don't bother seeing this one. U-571 is much better. And Stealth is much more entertaining even if its kinda cliché too.
I think this movie was made with a "Cut & Paste" program.
jimmy-15024 August 2000
This movie was by far the worst Techno-thriller type movie I have ever seen, I suffered through the entire movie to see who was the brave soul that allowed his/her name to be attached to the technical adviser's slot and who the continuity director was. Now I know that everyone is not an accuracy nut like I am, but having been in the navy, it would be nice to have the film stay in the ball park. The hardest thing about this film to believe is the fact that of the 90 minutes that it ran, 45 of it was re-hashed from other movies, and the majority of those 45 minutes were from "Crimson Tide." I guess sampling is alive and well in the movie industry as well.
Under Siege done bad
bitbucketchip14 September 2021
I saw an episode of Good Witch and was looking up Catherine Bell and saw she was in this. Ironically I don't even remember her appearing in this mess. Pretty sure she wasn't even on the sub, despite the billing.
This was a bad movie. The technical flaws were obvious even to a civilian who never served on a missile boat. And that wasn't even the worst part. The story was written by Xerox Machine from Under Siege.
In Under Siege we had ex-SEAL Segal putting down the Slim Jim's long enough to defeat bad guys headed by Tommy Lee Jones who took over a battleship. This had ex-SEAL Dudekoff putting down his daughter long enough to defeat bad guys consisting of D-listers with Russian accents. Dudekoff is no Segal, which is bigger insult than it sounds, and his acting was on the order of the tension created by whether he would make it back in time for his daughter's piano recital.
This movie had everything I hate about one-man-army action movies. The bad guys killed ten times their number in good guys before they're finally stopped by our hero. It's great that they're eventually stopped, sure, but I'd prefer my fictional hero to prevent further loss of life from the moment he enters the fray. A one-man-army cartoon character who is continually outsmarted and outmaneuvered while more people die is just another James Bond. Been there, done that.
This was a bad movie. The technical flaws were obvious even to a civilian who never served on a missile boat. And that wasn't even the worst part. The story was written by Xerox Machine from Under Siege.
In Under Siege we had ex-SEAL Segal putting down the Slim Jim's long enough to defeat bad guys headed by Tommy Lee Jones who took over a battleship. This had ex-SEAL Dudekoff putting down his daughter long enough to defeat bad guys consisting of D-listers with Russian accents. Dudekoff is no Segal, which is bigger insult than it sounds, and his acting was on the order of the tension created by whether he would make it back in time for his daughter's piano recital.
This movie had everything I hate about one-man-army action movies. The bad guys killed ten times their number in good guys before they're finally stopped by our hero. It's great that they're eventually stopped, sure, but I'd prefer my fictional hero to prevent further loss of life from the moment he enters the fray. A one-man-army cartoon character who is continually outsmarted and outmaneuvered while more people die is just another James Bond. Been there, done that.
Painful to watch!
callidusman9 October 2005
Warning: Spoilers
As a former submarine sailor, this was the most pathetic submarine movie I've ever watched. A friend bought it for me as a birthday gift and I felt obligated to watch it. Apparently, it was too difficult to round up ANYBODY who had ever served aboard a submarine to correct a few of the several hundred mistakes. Had they asked someone like me, this may have turned out to be a fair movie.
Dudikoff's character was suppose to be a Navy SEAL... He sure didn't fight like a SEAL, especially when that woman was kicking his a**!
Furthermore, the ocean is pretty deep once you move away from the continental shelf. Submarines are not able to cruise around along the bottom of the ocean. They try to stay away from rocks and stuff that might damage the hull if you were to accidentally run into it.
Also, with the intense firefight near the end of the movie, I thought it was amazing that not even a single bullet ricocheted.
Finally, SSN submarines do not have vertical launch tubes, SSBN submarines are the ones with vertical launch tubes.
I appreciate my friend giving my this gift, but I'll never get these 90 minutes back!
Dudikoff's character was suppose to be a Navy SEAL... He sure didn't fight like a SEAL, especially when that woman was kicking his a**!
Furthermore, the ocean is pretty deep once you move away from the continental shelf. Submarines are not able to cruise around along the bottom of the ocean. They try to stay away from rocks and stuff that might damage the hull if you were to accidentally run into it.
Also, with the intense firefight near the end of the movie, I thought it was amazing that not even a single bullet ricocheted.
Finally, SSN submarines do not have vertical launch tubes, SSBN submarines are the ones with vertical launch tubes.
I appreciate my friend giving my this gift, but I'll never get these 90 minutes back!
I actually couldn't watch it
jdonalds-523 July 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I am a real WWII fan. So much so that my son and I took a vacation in France in 2010 during which we visited the beaches and museums of Normandy. We stayed in a Bed and Breakfast that was occupied by German officers during the war. We even watched, for the first time, The Band Of Brothers series in that bed and breakfast.
I will watch just about any movie that has to do with WWII, my favorites being those related to hardware, ships, tanks, airplanes, submarines, heavy artillery, etc. I can't count the number of WW II movies I've watched, some of them so excellent I watched them multiple time, some so bad they were almost intolerable. This 1997 version of Crash Dive was so bad I actually couldn't watch it.
I managed to get through about 20 minutes of Crash Dive 1997 before I had to cut it off. The acting was so bad, even in a couple of cases by a seasoned actor, direction was the worst, and the dialog was truly awful.
From the early moments where sailors were disrespectful with their officers I knew this would be at least a B movie. But when they rescued the Russians off the raft, then left them unguarded I began to doubt my ability to get through the whole thing.
I finally cut it off and watched the 1943 version which was MUCH better. However the two movies share a name, but the story lines are not at all alike. Crash Dive 1943 is a WWII romantic comedy, not a sub movie.
Don't waste your time on Crash Dive 1997.
I will watch just about any movie that has to do with WWII, my favorites being those related to hardware, ships, tanks, airplanes, submarines, heavy artillery, etc. I can't count the number of WW II movies I've watched, some of them so excellent I watched them multiple time, some so bad they were almost intolerable. This 1997 version of Crash Dive was so bad I actually couldn't watch it.
I managed to get through about 20 minutes of Crash Dive 1997 before I had to cut it off. The acting was so bad, even in a couple of cases by a seasoned actor, direction was the worst, and the dialog was truly awful.
From the early moments where sailors were disrespectful with their officers I knew this would be at least a B movie. But when they rescued the Russians off the raft, then left them unguarded I began to doubt my ability to get through the whole thing.
I finally cut it off and watched the 1943 version which was MUCH better. However the two movies share a name, but the story lines are not at all alike. Crash Dive 1943 is a WWII romantic comedy, not a sub movie.
Don't waste your time on Crash Dive 1997.
Pretty light action flick...
mauro-129 July 1999
A movie to see if you are not in the mood for some heavy thinking. There is plenty of action, the usual amount of dead people, and some pretty decent special effects. The movie is your standard terrorist movie, although it has the twist that these terrorists are working from inside a nuclear submarine. Since large parts of the plot are not too believable, the viewer should watch this in a relaxed state, just to enjoy some adrenaline, and not pay attention to the odd things that sometimes happen (like the guy can swim faster than the sub or a laptop computer that melts like it was made of foam). All in all, enjoyable if you are bored.
OK if you are drifting in and out of consciousness
tmcdaniel128 June 2008
For all the fight scenes in this movie, you'd think they would have devoted some creativity to them...Ooops Sorry, There was no creativity in the entire movie. The director should be shooting video of the South Dakota RV Association annual meeting instead.
It really comes across as soft-headed and amateurish to the point of being offensive. They entire thing stumbles in a gooey fog through second rate (why not use first rate?) cliché's.
The best they can get out of the few serious actors in it is a sort of half-hearted professionalism, where they recreate (from better memories) some more prestigious and more watchable previous roles.
Painful. Turn it off and go clean the garage. You'll have more fun.
It really comes across as soft-headed and amateurish to the point of being offensive. They entire thing stumbles in a gooey fog through second rate (why not use first rate?) cliché's.
The best they can get out of the few serious actors in it is a sort of half-hearted professionalism, where they recreate (from better memories) some more prestigious and more watchable previous roles.
Painful. Turn it off and go clean the garage. You'll have more fun.
Pretty Good Movie!!
Ninja Girl9 June 2000
I thought that overall the movie was pretty good. A lot of action was in it and not much plot, for what it was I think that the movie turned out really good. Plus I'm a fan of Catherine Bell so I have to say she did a really good job as Lt. Cmdr. Lisa Stark! >
Cool...
Roman05 October 2001
The fighting scene is very cool! What's more, wife(or, fiancee) and kid are always best choices of adding humanity to the story. Yes, I always like this part. Though made before the WTC crashed, this is still a good reflection on highjacking and "sub-jacking". I wonder if these movies provided guides for terrorists.
Absolute DRECK!
twidgetbubblehead22 August 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Horizontal escape hatches? Plastic name tags on dungarees? Stars on the white shirt of the admiral?
The "USS Sarasota"(?) looks like an old Essex class carrier and, until recently, all attack submarines were named after denizens of the deep, not a fictional character.
Internal architecture is ALL WRONG for a submarine, especially an attack boat.The arms locker is unlocked, hatches that don't even look like submarine hatches, bulkhead cuts that look like a destroyer, and enough room in berthing to hold a tea dance.
I truly cannot believe that the communications suite is not in an enclosed area that can be locked, despite the fact that just about everyone on a submarine has a security clearance.
This movie deserves to be relegated to the scrap heap. It's not even as good as U-571, and that movie was horrible.
The "USS Sarasota"(?) looks like an old Essex class carrier and, until recently, all attack submarines were named after denizens of the deep, not a fictional character.
Internal architecture is ALL WRONG for a submarine, especially an attack boat.The arms locker is unlocked, hatches that don't even look like submarine hatches, bulkhead cuts that look like a destroyer, and enough room in berthing to hold a tea dance.
I truly cannot believe that the communications suite is not in an enclosed area that can be locked, despite the fact that just about everyone on a submarine has a security clearance.
This movie deserves to be relegated to the scrap heap. It's not even as good as U-571, and that movie was horrible.
So bad it's.... well, bad
millennia-230 August 2000
'Crash Dive' goes the way of a great many other B action movies, only this one is worse in many regards. Of course that's what appeals to fans of the genre, and if you look at it that way, it won't disappoint. The special effects, especially the climactic missile destruction have to be seen to be believed. They are so bad you end up laughing at them, ruining any intended entertainment value that the movie has to offer.
The acting is classically bad, not at all aided by a horrible script. Michael Dudikoff is laughable, they producers could've (and should've) hired a bum off the street to play his character, it would've worked out much better. The rest of the cast, made up entirely out of no names, fares no better, and they appear to have so little interest in the story that they showed up for work, and left, still sleeping.
There is one thing that is to be admired in this film is it's ambitions. Never before have I seen a B action movie that actually has any moments of.... sadness, so to speak. 'Crash Dive' does have some of that and, though it miserably fails, it is a refreshing break from the norm. Well maybe not refreshing, but a break all the same.
One of the qualities required in any B movie is unintentional entertainment value. 'Crash Dive' certainly has some of that, but the stretches in between the fits of badness is what is not very enjoyable. There are portions that are unimaginably tedious, and that's the reason I'm not going to recommend the movie, even for fans of Dudikoff, if any exist. Stay away. Stay far, far away.
2.5/10
The acting is classically bad, not at all aided by a horrible script. Michael Dudikoff is laughable, they producers could've (and should've) hired a bum off the street to play his character, it would've worked out much better. The rest of the cast, made up entirely out of no names, fares no better, and they appear to have so little interest in the story that they showed up for work, and left, still sleeping.
There is one thing that is to be admired in this film is it's ambitions. Never before have I seen a B action movie that actually has any moments of.... sadness, so to speak. 'Crash Dive' does have some of that and, though it miserably fails, it is a refreshing break from the norm. Well maybe not refreshing, but a break all the same.
One of the qualities required in any B movie is unintentional entertainment value. 'Crash Dive' certainly has some of that, but the stretches in between the fits of badness is what is not very enjoyable. There are portions that are unimaginably tedious, and that's the reason I'm not going to recommend the movie, even for fans of Dudikoff, if any exist. Stay away. Stay far, far away.
2.5/10
Preposterous and boring
robert_8 October 2021
This non-entity of a movie doesn't deserve a long review, so here are my brief thoughts. You will have seen every single element of this movie done better elsewhere. It is Die Hard and Under Siege on a submarine, yet so much worse than any of the films in either series. It is utterly predictable and totally unmemorable apart from the single worst shootout I have ever seen in a movie. This shootout manages to be completely mesmerising due to the total lack of jeopardy and the catastrophic editing. It is staggeringly poorly done, however, for this hilariously bad sequence I have added an extra star.
Poor Die hard" on submarine
Maziun25 November 2014
This is the first movie to place the DIE HARD scenario on a submarine. I guess that this makes this movie somewhat important historically. It doesn't change the fact that this movie sucks.
It was nice to see Catherine Bell ("JAG" TV series). Too bad she had a rather small part and the romance between her and Michael Dudikoff is rather unbelievable. I remember that the "sex scene" at the end is terribly lame. Sex in clothes ?! Come on ! "Crimson tide" , "The Hunt for Red October" , "Under siege" , "Die hard" All good movies. Watch them. Don't waste your time on "Crash dive". Sadly , it's still one of Dudikoff better movies. I give it 1/10.
It was nice to see Catherine Bell ("JAG" TV series). Too bad she had a rather small part and the romance between her and Michael Dudikoff is rather unbelievable. I remember that the "sex scene" at the end is terribly lame. Sex in clothes ?! Come on ! "Crimson tide" , "The Hunt for Red October" , "Under siege" , "Die hard" All good movies. Watch them. Don't waste your time on "Crash dive". Sadly , it's still one of Dudikoff better movies. I give it 1/10.
B Grade 13 in a dozen nonsense flick
erwan_ticheler17 March 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Michael Dudikoff is one of those "actors" in Hollywood that makes his living on B grade action movies that don't have any story or fun what so ever.The same goes for "Crash Dive", a totally inert flick that borrows heavily from "Under Siege","Die Hard" and so forth.The acting is horrible as is the story.Come on,a middle east terrorist group (that contains Russian speaking Germans WAAHAA) that invades a sub marine and then wants to destroy New York or Washington to rule the world.The same old story told without any humor.I'm starting to feel a little sea sick now...
At one point I was cheering for the terrorists,I mean who would put nukes on a sub.Then you're begging for total destruction.Dudikoff is no action hero and he wouldn't be a good terrorist either,he's below that. And then that ugly "Russian" woman,she looks awful,why couldn't she die earlier? No surprises,bad acting,a dull story.lame one liners and ridiculous special effects (the explosion in the Empire State Building is stuff from the forties,I mean really) make for a totally forgettable VHS B grade movie. Dudikoff should be fired once and for all or killed by those movie terrorists...
2/10 (just because it's not that awful for a 1.)
At one point I was cheering for the terrorists,I mean who would put nukes on a sub.Then you're begging for total destruction.Dudikoff is no action hero and he wouldn't be a good terrorist either,he's below that. And then that ugly "Russian" woman,she looks awful,why couldn't she die earlier? No surprises,bad acting,a dull story.lame one liners and ridiculous special effects (the explosion in the Empire State Building is stuff from the forties,I mean really) make for a totally forgettable VHS B grade movie. Dudikoff should be fired once and for all or killed by those movie terrorists...
2/10 (just because it's not that awful for a 1.)
Another Michael Dud-i-koff Movie Failure to Deliver.
dncorp29 April 2019
As a Joint Services Special warfare Officer (U.S. Army Special Forces, U.S.A.F. Special Operations Wing, U.S.M.C. MARSOC, U.S.N. S.E.A.L. and Agency), I ended up being Trained as a U.S. Navy Executive Officer on a U.S. Navy CVN (Aircraft Carrier) and a U.S. Navy Boat (Submarine) 668i. With main intent of learning things necessary to conduct a "Triple R" Mission of Rescue the Passengers and Crew of Ships and Submarines, Recapture any Ship or Submarine and get that to a Safe Location with a minimal numbers of crew, Recovery of the bodies of the deceased (murdered or Killed In Action).
Typical of any U.S. Navy Vessel, Ships or Boats (Submarines), are a Security Detachment of Armed U.S.M.C. Marines that secure all Restricted Areas of the Ship or Boat (Submarine) including small arms weapons storage to stop a Mutiny.
As U.S Department of the Navy Directives, Regulations, U.S. Navy Boats (Submarines) especially with Nuclear Weapons aboard as "National Security Assets" as higher than the value of anybody's life, responding to an Emergency are NOT allowed to surface and be possibly be detected as a "Breach of National Security" (a Charge Higher than Treason). The U.S. Navy Boat (Submarine) remains "On Station" at Periscope Depth from long range and guides Surface Vessels and or Aircraft to the Area Only, as a Maximum as breaking Radio Silence, any other Actions means Automatically found Guilty while Absent from Courts Martial, "Guilty Inabsentia". As Procedure, the Next in the Chain of Command MUST by Regulation Relieve that Person In Command that Ordered more than prescribed by U.S. Department of Defense Directives, U.S. Navy Directives and Regulations, etc..
Typical of any U.S. Navy Vessel, Ships or Boats (Submarines), are a Security Detachment of Armed U.S.M.C. Marines that secure all Restricted Areas of the Ship or Boat (Submarine) including small arms weapons storage to stop a Mutiny.
As U.S Department of the Navy Directives, Regulations, U.S. Navy Boats (Submarines) especially with Nuclear Weapons aboard as "National Security Assets" as higher than the value of anybody's life, responding to an Emergency are NOT allowed to surface and be possibly be detected as a "Breach of National Security" (a Charge Higher than Treason). The U.S. Navy Boat (Submarine) remains "On Station" at Periscope Depth from long range and guides Surface Vessels and or Aircraft to the Area Only, as a Maximum as breaking Radio Silence, any other Actions means Automatically found Guilty while Absent from Courts Martial, "Guilty Inabsentia". As Procedure, the Next in the Chain of Command MUST by Regulation Relieve that Person In Command that Ordered more than prescribed by U.S. Department of Defense Directives, U.S. Navy Directives and Regulations, etc..
Dudikoff as Bruce Willis
Paddy-Giese1 March 2004
In this good B-Movie shows Michael Dudikoff that he is one of the best Action-Actors in Hollywood. He process the whole submarine with a gun and his fist. The tricks in this movie are not good, but director Andrew Stevens did a good job. The sequel "Counter Measures" is better, with more action, the lighteffects in Crash Dive are not very amuse. The story is very thrilling, the german actor Reiner Schone is a bad " terrorist`. Later the producers Stevens / Amritraj made some movies, which reminds at Crash Dive, like Freedom Strike or Fugitive Mind.
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