THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (1990br)

Tom Clancy's novels are unsubtle, but he writes with panache and portrays technology convincingly. Not so this movie, which is too long and for the most part boring. Sean Connery plays a respected Russian submarine captain wanting to defect to the US with an extremely dangerous new submarine, but he's so passive that he adds nothing to the drama that could have been at the heart of this action/adventure film. Alec Baldwin doesn't add much, either, as Jack Ryan, ace CIA analyst who somehow manages to convince top government officials, and all-powerful naval vessel commanders, that his hunches are right. The ensemble cast is very good, but overall...meh.