if ask how i would define the word shallow i would reply watch a jerry bruckheimer production . if ask how i would define the phrase waste potential i would reply watch a jerry bruckheimer production . bruckheimer production be nearly always sure fire hit at the box office but nearly always receive critical pannings from the critic . off the top of my head i can only think of an officer and a gentleman and black hawk down get a lot of critical acclaim . crimson tide too receive some begrudge acclaim from critic and it certainly one of bruckheimer well film which alas isn ` t say much . the problem i have be the scenario that set up the story represent the russian be fight the chechen and the conflict spread through the whole of russia lead to an ultra nationalist russian to take over a nuclear missile base and threaten the west if they interfere . maybe the end of the cold war have everything to do with it but i find this set up very unconvincing . it not help by some error in geography like the french carrier foch be in the med ( wouldn ` t the foch be well position in the black sea . ) or that the expositional newsreel consists of familar footage feature conflict from the balkan and the first gulf war and even vietnam . once again the adjective very unconvincing crept into my mind . the story do improve somewhat when the story proper a battle of will concern order between a nuclear submarine commander and his number two get underway . director tony scott do his best a do the cast and but the problem still lie in an unconvincing scenario . the bad thing be that if this have be make in the mid 1980s when ww3 be a real possibility nay probability this film would have terrify me and but after the cold war end so have the danger of nuclear war which mean crimson tide have little impact .