Tides of War (2005 TV Movie) User Reviews

Could Have Been Better With Some Research

[montyw47-1 · 5/10 · 24 September 2010]

Why was this listed as a "gay themed" movie? The time Adrian Paul with his "lover" is so brief a to be non-existent. The Don't Ask Don't Tell isn't mentioned when service members don't tell but are asked and then thrown out of the military. Disappointing in this respect. The Captain of almost any Navy ship is god almighty. To have a junior officer even the XO, take over a sub while operation in HOSTILE waters is ridiculous! Why is it so difficult to get the rank insignia on Adrian Paul's uniform correct? 3 Solid Stripes with Star is a Full Commander, not a thin bar in between 2 solid stripes. Silver Oak leaf is correct.

At least the sister and former lover reconciled at the end.

so-so

[jweibley-05586 · 6/10 · 9 November 2017]

The worse thing about this movie is why can't the people in Hollywood get the US Navy rating structure correct. The CO of the boat had both Silver Oak leafs (which stands for Commander) on his uniform and Shoulder boards with two 1/2" gold stripes and one 1/4" gold stripe (which stands for LCDR). The COB had LT bars on for an officer but he is the Commands Master Chief Petty Officer. There were many other discrepancies like this in the movie. The acting was decent. Overall it was an okay movie.

Good Acting, Mediocre Movie

[gazebo · 6/10 · 8 March 2006]

This is a nice movie. That's the most I could give it. The acting, for the most part, was excellent. The story, though, was kinda mediocre. I watched this movie for Adrian Paul and I thought he was terrific in this movie. I kept on thinking as I watched this movie was, if the script was better, if there was more tension, more action, this movie would've lifted itself out of the "B" movie genre because of the good acting all around. I enjoyed the movie. It was okay.

I know that this movie was first shown on a gay cable TV network and a lot of "gay" scenes were probably edited out. The version that I watched, that was a rental from Hollywood video, was the "straight" version. It was pretty good.

My mother and I watched this movie. At the end of the movie, my mother declared that Adrian Paul's character was in love with his best friend who was killed! I never told her that this was a "gay movie" when it first came out and I was stunned by her declaration. Well, I guess Adrian Paul was so convincing as the grieving commander that it was a logical conclusion. Boy, this movie sure had a lot of "gay" subtext! It's a good movie in that it showcases Adrian Paul's great acting. He has this charismatic quality and this vulnerability that he just makes you want to reach out and talk to him.

Watch this movie for Adrian Paul!

Ridiculous! Producers: consider recruiting real submariners as advisers next time.

[butch-81 · 1/10 · 10 March 2006]

From the very first sound (a cartoonish attempt at an active sonar "ping") by a synthesizer sampler, this movie was riddled with mistakes and inconsistencies.

The opening "ping" could have been avoided by a simple phone call to Pt Loma, California to ask for an email attachment .mpg of an actual "ping" for the all-important opening of this movie. Who in their right mind would produce a movie without subject-matter expert advisers.

This entire movie was pitifully flawed. I could overlook budgetary constraints but to have the ship's Captain stand before his men and determine that a torpedo that had just exploded nearby was launched from a new unknown class of submarine; that's just too much. He deduced this without any sonar data, no intelligence, and no evidence that the attack wasn't carried out by an anti-submarine aircraft or even an enemy frigate or destroyer. Heck, he didn't even know there was anything shadowing him only a minute before!! One the other hand, the National Enquirer readers will eat it this Twinkie up and the folks that vote based on the Daily Show or the Colbert Report will wonder why it wasn't nominated for an academy award.

I don't understand why these Hollywood marshmallows don't just ask a man to look over their script to cull the nonsense.

The uniform discrepancies were a joke.

[jeffpost-27371 · 1/10 · 2 March 2020]

These are just some of the uniform discrepancies, I noticed. I am sure there were more.

1. The CO wore LCDR shoulder boards and CDR collar devices. 2. No officer, besides the CO had gold chin straps on their covers. All officers are supposed to have the gold chin straps on their covers. 3. While wearing the summer white uniform, the COB wore LT collar devices. 4. While wearing the summer white uniform, the Intel Captain wore Perry Officer First Class collar devices. 5. The Intel Captain, although it was apparent that he had never been on a submarine, wore dolphins on his poopy suit (coveralls). 6. All of the the submarine line officers were wearing Supply Corps Officer dolphins instead of the Submarine Line Officer dolphins.

Another note: The Conning Officer (also known as the Officer of the Deck) gives the Diving Officer of the Watch (Dive) depth orders. The Dive's mission is to Reach and Maintain Ordered Depth, period. One exception is when diving the boat, then the dive has control of the speed and course. In the movie, the Dive was controlling depth, speed and course all of the time. That is wrong.

They had an Ensign Doctor onboard.

1. Independent Duty Corpsman go to sea on subs, not doctors. 2. Doctors are promoted to LT upon getting their doctor credentials. There are no Ensign doctors.

I could go on and on but I am sure everyone gets the point. If you cannot get the little things correct, how are you going to get the "big flic" right.

Realism

[triznuity · 1/10 · 10 October 2006]

From the plot to the props, to the horribly tasteless computer generated graphics, right down to the acting, this movie was really flawed. On a positive note, I will give credit to the writers/directors/producers of this film who attempted to tell the story of our Navy's submariners. However, next time, please take some additional time to conduct the proper research on proper wear of Navy uniforms. In this age of Google and many other search engines, this information could have been easily obtained, and the realism truly brought out in your art. Instead, the uniforms created numerous distractions from the plot. If all else, U.S. Navy Sailors, like myself who wear the cloth of the nation, when viewing a portrayal of our duties, deserve to see them portrayed correctly. Anything else, my friends, border heavily on disrespect.

So wooden you might get splinters

[nick-796-750597 · 1/10 · 21 March 2024]

Just terrible. All of it. Actors, set, underwater action scenes, script, screenplay, characterisation.

Little better than one of those low budget made for cable tv mid week housewife tv movies of the 1970s & 1980s.

Just terrible. All of it. Actors, set, underwater action scenes, script, screenplay, characterisation.

Little better than one of those low budget made for cable tv mid week housewife tv movies of the 1970s & 1980s.

Just terrible. All of it. Actors, set, underwater action scenes, script, screenplay, characterisation.

Little better than one of those low budget made for cable tv mid week housewife tv movies of the 1970s & 1980s.

Standard submarine movie with a gay twist

[WinBearTx · 7/10 · 3 April 2005]

This movie first aired 4/1/2005 on ->hereTV, the gay pay-per-view satellite channel. The guide description reads "A submarine commander (Adrian Paul), who is gay, combats a mysterious enemy while silently mourning the loss of his partner."

The movie starts out with the obligatory gay scene, but it has practically nothing to do with the rest of the movie. There is a nice moment of closure on the gay storyline at the end of the movie.

The acting is pretty good, but most of the underwater effects are a little cheap. Any scene with a torpedo or depth charge in it looks totally fake, but other scenes looks reasonably acceptable.

I found it to be pretty good for a submarine thriller, but was a little too light on the gay content to warrant being classified as a gay-themed movie or getting first-run on a gay channel.

Routine

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 21 January 2019]

I caught this under the title PHANTOM BELOW. It's a routine TV movie with the plot of a typical submarine thriller, with HIGHLANDER's Adrian Paul playing a captain who must navigate through hostile waters and figure out how to play his part during a conflict with North Korea. I watched this out of interest because it was directed by the wonderful Brian Trenchard-Smith, of AZTEC REX and TURKEY SHOOT fame, but sadly it's one of his most pedestrian efforts.

Great

[kris-burkett · 9/10 · 31 July 2008]

Personally, I loved it. I'm sorry for the others that felt it was so bad. My husband and I have watched it several times.

I think Adrian Paul did an excellent job. He's a very good actor in all his films. The other's were pretty good too, but maybe one out of the bunch could have been better.

But other than that, we were thoroughly entertained. I'm sure there are things that stand out to men who have been on subs before that were totally unbelievable. I can understand that. I show horses and almost every horse movie I sit there and pick out what's unrealistic. It's happens with all movies.

It just shows that what's good for one person, might be bad for another. I hated Natural Born Killers and Pulp Fiction - go figure.

Not as bad as you may want it to be.

[SimonJester2 · 6/10 · 24 July 2020]

Look, the special effects were very much 'SYFY' specials and the acting in the lower echelons left a lot to be desired. But the Machiavellian nature of the plot were quite rousing.

The Phantom Below

[CinemaSerf · 5/10 · 2 December 2023]

When his XO i(and lover) is killed following a mysterious naval action off the coast of North Korea, "Cdr. Habley" (Adrian Paul) is relieved of command of his hunter-killer submarine. Thing is, his bosses do think that something is amiss in these waters, so engage duplicitous and ambitious "Lt. Cdr. Barker" (Matthew St. Patrick) to entice "Habley" back, despite his golfing leave. Back in the murky waters, they discover that another allied submarine has been sunk with all hands but some manoeuvring onboard sees our captain locked in his cabin and his deputy running a somewhat disgruntled crew into what is increasingly looking like the jaws of disaster. Can "Habley" regain control of his ship and save the lives of his crew from the unknown threat lurking in the seas? It's a sort of "Crimson Tide" (1995) meets "Hunt for Red October" (1990) - I'm sure a few of the shots were borrowed from the latter film - only without any jeopardy or intrigue. The acting and writing are as bad as each other and it's all augmented by mediocre visual effects and a sort of faux-military style of trumpeted score that really adds up to a television movie for consumption at 3am when you've lost the remote. The idea isn't terrible, the execution, however... Avoid, sorry.

An especially creditable display of military stoicism by handsome Adrian Paul.

[Weirdling_Wolf · 7/10 · 25 February 2021]

Usually I am so profoundly put off by cheap-looking CGI and poor matte work that I find myself wholly unable to suspend the necessary disbelief to settle back into the movie, but in the exceptional case of 'Phantom Below' I found the robust narrative to be enjoyably tense and my yen for deeply absorbing submariner combat was more than adequately met. Stolid acting performances abound, with an especially creditable display of military stoicism by handsome Adrian Paul as the greatly beleaguered Captain Frank Hapley, whose pristine reputation is now very much under threat as his superiors actively refute his ardent claims that during his last ostensibly peaceful mission their submarine was actively stalked by another rogue, hitherto undocumented vessel, one mysteriously cloaked with next generation stealth capabilities! With its alacritous narrative bolstered by a palpable sense of relentlessly encroaching threat, experienced action director Brian Trenchard-Smith keeps the immersive story bouyant right until its satisfying climax, and budgetary limitations notwithstanding, this made for exciting, if not exactly essential deep sea entertainment. (The version of the film I saw was entitled 'Phantom Below' which I have since discovered is heavily edited to remove all the gay content.)

Great vehicle for Adrian and not a bad movie either!

[feeanne · 8/10 · 3 May 2005]

I saw this movie last weekend (May 1) at the HLWW convention in Sydney. We got to talk to Adrian afterward, which was a treat as well. As a female I am not that hot on war movies, but this one wasn't bad. The model work was simple but effective I thought. There were mistakes with the set dressing like the cabins were too big and didn't have a threshold (edge you have to step over)as a real area on a sub or ship must. The Con room wasn't bad and the director managed to convey some of the claustrophobic conditions within the confines of the "bridge". Also anyone familiar with US naval uniform will have a ball picking all the mistakes with the lead characters' clothes.

Dramatically it moved along quite well. The change of heart of the female Lieutenant, the working relationship between the hero and his COB was done very well. He supports our hero after the death of Commander Habley's lover. The story was solid enough and didn't rely on coincidences. It's pity the budget didn't run to a longer film which might have established the expertise of the hero and the necessity to release him after he loses command mid voyage. The replacement XO spy comes around miles too fast for my taste. Adrian looks wonderful, Ms Dent, while looking untidy in uniform, does a good job as the grieving sister and other cast members put in solid performances.

If you enjoy elongated episodes of JAG, you'll like this. If you're an Adrian fan and want to see him naked, that's another reason to hire this out. Me, I'll probably buy it. Shallow's the new deep, doncha know!

For lack of a good script

[kirachloe · 6/10 · 18 February 2023]

OMG this could have been a GREAT movie, on par with Ice Station Zebra, but all the 'responsible' people accepted a sub-par script. You had major talent, pretty good graphics (come on, will improving 2 minutes of CGI video dramatically change 90 minutes of film) and a GREAT concept, and you let the doldrums of the mid-script bring the whole movie down? You had the makings of a picture, that could put Crimson Tide to shame, but the mid-script transition was WEAK!!! Director/producers, you have responsibility to prevent these shortcomings. You were so close to having 'streamed' a B/C movie from being a real hit. But you missed.

Great Movie, with the Storyline in the right perspective

[bard-cotrp · 8/10 · 11 December 2006]

Okay, in the Version I've seen, there was a gay relationship present between the XO and the CO, but it wasn't the purpose of the movie. A great movie to watch with a great storyline! Adrian provides a wonderful outlet for his character, as well as everyone else in the movie. I feel that the issues presented (being gay in the military, unintelligent military intelligence) keep the movie modern and prevalent in our society today. I for one am looking forward to seeing more movies like this one, where I can watch it from beginning to end with out wondering if I left the Iron on. Whip out your popcorn, grab a soda and WATCH THIS MOVIE! You'll be sorry you missed it. Go to Hawaii, and find yourself a sailor man.

USS Poseidon

[cajunwtr60 · 9/10 · 22 February 2006]

Being a published writer and one book dealing with a long submarine chase, Adrian Paul portrayed a true submarine commander and 'Dizzy Malone' was a true Chief of the Boat. I have watched the movie numerous times on DVD and love the suspense of the phantom submarine. I wish the chase would have covered more territory; but also understand the realm the phantom operated in between North Korea and China and the scenario the writers placed the boats in. The Yellow Sea really is shallow for submarine operations.

If my book, HUNTED, was made into a movie, Adrian Paul would make a great CDR D.J. 'Deke' Slater. He has the talent to portray various characters and is versatile in various surroundings. He takes his acting very seriously. I hope to see him in more movies.

my review for uss poseidon phantom below

[liamwuthrich · 10/10 · 8 July 2015]

well i like the film a lot because of the skill and tenacity of the crew in the heat of battle on board any submarine also i have played similar submarine game's in school and at home it is very hard to hunt hide a kill your enemy and everybody brings something new too the film's like this one compared to others on the market not based on a video game also i like the fact this film had a happy ending the family of the pervous xo got close-her in her brother death as his last request to a friend also i also learned a lot from this type of movie and what theater they were using for the under water footage and that very little cgi was involed and like every film everybody new their line because they had their a game in this film also i am a hudge fan of Adrian Paul and i know he doe's thing's buy the book in this film and that's OK in my book. anyway i think the other actor's and actress's were also great doing their part considering all the film's and TV series they have been in before this film came to light and i would love too see this film considered for netflex apple TV and Xbox video on those platform's and this film is a great fiction of life and death and true courage in the line of duty of a military type film.