66
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleThe submarine drama, which opens today, has everything you could want from an action thriller and a few other things you usually can't hope to expect: an excellent script, first-rate performances and a story that has more to do with individuals than explosions.
- 91Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanDirected by Tony Scott, Crimson Tide is the kind of sumptuously exciting undersea thriller that moves forward in quick, propulsive waves.
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertOddly enough, Crimson Tide develops into an actors' picture, not just an action movie. There are a lot of special effects, high-tech gadgets and violent standoffs, yes, but the movie is really a battle between two wills.
- 80EmpireEmpireEquipped with liberal helpings of square-jawed top quality Hollywood thespianism, and that expensive, highly commercial Tony Scott gloss-finish, this submarine-set mutiny thriller is about as good as it gets.
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliIt's a thrill-a-minute ride that concludes with a whimper, like a roller-coaster that has all the drops and twists early. Make no mistake, this is a good source of early summer fun, but with a little extra imagination, it could have been a whole lot more.
- 75San Francisco ExaminerSan Francisco ExaminerIt's too slick to be truly disturbing, but it's that slickness that keeps you on the edge of your chair.
- 75Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittThe movie has nothing intelligent to say about post-cold-war tensions or anything else, but it's great fun to watch Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington square off in a submarine that looks like a cross between the Starship Enterprise and something you'd get in a cereal box.
- 70Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonThe scenario may be dumb and predictable, with a wimpy ending to boot, but it's also sort of fun.
- 67Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovGo see it, get the adrenaline rush, and then go home and forget about it. It's noisy and fun, but that's all it is.
- 40Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumBehind all the macho bluster stand (or, it would appear, sit) director Tony Scott, writers Michael Schiffer and Richard P. Henrick, and producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, trying (and failing) to get all the characters to behave like grown-ups.