Ed Harris plays Demi, a Russian naval officer sent on his final assignment before retirement. His mission is to pilot an old submarine that still runs on diesel fuel, before it’s decommissioned and sold to China. Demi is told that this mission will take place underwater, something he’s done throughout his career, but the fact that the mission must remain classified is new territory. With some trepidation over not having all the details, Demi gathers his crew including Executive Officer Alex (William Fichtner) and Officer Pavlov (Jonathan Schaech), for service, while Bruni (David Duchovny), a guarded KGB official, joins the voyage, responsible for keeping the mission a secret from everyone on board.
Demi, the son of a celebrated submarine captain, has had his own successes, but never felt like he lived up to his father’s legacy. He’s also haunted by an incident early in his career, and if that weren’t enough, Demi is also dealing with visual and aural hallucinations. When Bruni starts giving orders to the crew, fatigued and tired, Demi’s first impulse is to have them go along with it. However, it’s not long before Demi realizes that he must take charge, and make a decision that could change the world.
Written and directed by Todd Robinson (Lonely Hearts), Phantom doesn’t offer many surprises and the outcome is never really in doubt. Even so, the movie shows respect for the audience’s intelligence, staying away from the use of cheap theatrics. For the most part, the way Demi and his crew react to Bruni’s attempted takeover is duly heroic. This crew, led by an imperfect man who has made mistakes but has commanded with honor and integrity earning their admiration and respect, go above and beyond the call of duty. It makes complete sense that they would do so. They have all watch Demi do his job with great courage, no matter the circumstances.
Ed Harris gives the standout performance here. He manages to mine his character and show the pain and struggle that Demi is going through. Harris is ultimately the reason Phantom is worth checking out; as good as some of the actors involved can be, it was Harris who kept me interested. It’s a shame that Robinson’s script was so obvious and dull at times, given a bit more flair, Phantom might have been right up there with The Hunt for Red October.
Framed at 2.35:1, this 1080p transfer is very solid. Sharpness is top-notch throughout, and color is realistic and strong. Flesh tones are a tad subdued, but they look realistic. Contrast isn’t quite as strong as one might like, and blacks are solid.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix is very strong. Spilt effects during the underwater sequences are impressive. The LFE channel gets a good workout, considering all of the explosions, and battle work. Dialogue comes through clearly on the center channel.
English SDH, and Spanish subtitles are included.
The following special features are available:
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Todd Robinson: Robinson discusses his decision to not use Russian accents, and the difficulties of making a cramped, low-budget movie inside of a decommissioned submarine. Actor Ed Harris joins in to give a few mumbled thoughts.
- Facing the Apocalypse: Making Phantom (HD, 12:58) The cast, crew, and the film’s director talk about the challenges of shooting a film entirely on an actual submarine.
- The Real Phantom (HD, 6:03) The director and historian Kenneth Sewell give some historical background on the possible—but still classified—story of the real K-129.
- Jeff Rona: Scoring Phantom (HD, 3:00) Composer Jeff Rona shows how he collected samples of various sound effects from the submarine and worked them into the score.
- “An Ocean Away” Music Video (HD, 2:54)
- UltraViolet Digital Copy
