K-19: The Widowmaker

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Year:	2002
Country of origin:	UK / Germany / USA / Canada
Director:	Kathryn Bigelow
Genre:	Real life nuclear sub thriller
Starring:	Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0267626/
Tagline:	Fate has found its hero.
Favourite line:	"Under no circumstances will I abandon my boat or my crew to the enemy."

I've often heard that Kathryn Bigelow is a female director who makes boys movies, and this is about as muscular as it gets.

Harrison Ford plays Capt. Alexei Vostrikov, given command of the first Russian nuclear submarine as hostilities between America and the Soviet Union intensified amidst a propaganda war that both sides believed would make a genuine war inevitable. Vostrikov has the task of testing the craft, pushing her to her limits so that, when the battle comes, the sailors are ready to go to the edge in order to ensure victory for the Motherland.
During testing, an accident occurs and the nuclear reactor that powers the vessel goes out of control and, from that point on, we follow the activities as the men battle bravely to bring the core under control, all at great risk to their own health as radiation seeps from the reactor.
In one of the most horrifying sequences I have seen in a while, men go into the reactor two by two to try to get the coolant flowing, only to emerge ten minutes later vomiting from the radiation coursing through their systems, with only a painful death to look forward to. Bristling with atmosphere and tension, this is made all the more powerful by the fact that you know it is based on real events.

A difficult watch at times, as man's stupidity is showcased as surely as his bravery, this is a quality thriller which is only docked a point for overstaying it's welcome, the final ten minutes or so dragging its heels unnecessarily.
From an Oscar winning director comes an earlier movie to recommend.