Steel Sharks (1997)

This film is more interesting today than when it was released in 1997.However it's still fighting WW11,not todays enemy as the script would like you to believe.Still a good sub film is hard to find.Add to it Navy Seals and its watchable one time.The plot is simple. Civilian scientist is kidnapped and the seals have to rescue him.Good stuff.The problem is that its Iran military not terrorists and the seal team sent to rescue him does but is captured itself and put on a Iranian sub which then plays "tag"with a US sub sent to extract the team after its mission.Some good navy footage as the Navy cooperated in the filming.Carriers,planes and subs,OH MY !!!! Still its good to boo the Iranians and cheer the seals even if it rings like fighting the "last"war instead of the one to come.Gary Busey plays Cmdr. Bill McKay,the USN subs captain with just enough aplomb to make you wonder if he's going to go off.Billy Dee Williams as Adm. Jim Perry head of the fleet, is really under-used and the rest of the cast is OK but not well known then or now,including the actors who played the seals.If you have nothing else to do, watch it.It's well made just not plausible.

One thing different with this movie is the pace. There is not a lot of wasted time or dialogue.The acting may have not been the best, but having the opportunity to go to sea on an actual Los Angeles Class Fast Attack Sub, the acting presented a more realistic look at what I have experienced.Gary Busey did a good job portraying the steely cool Capt of the USS Oakland, Billy Dee Williams on the other hand was a bit tight collared.Anyone with a submarine movie collection should have this right besides "Hunt for Red October" and "Crimson Tide".I would give this movie a rating of "8" counter-measures out of "10"

This movie started out very slow, but then picked up the pace, and started to become more exciting. I nearly fell asleep during the first half hour, but sort of woke up during the last parts of the film, when you got to know the characters a bit better, and their escape from the submarine began.I thought it was kind of funny that the foreigners couldn't decide on whether to speak in their native language, or to speak English, it just seemed like improvised play and/or poor planning.I liked most of the actors though, and especially thought that Gary Busey's portrayal of the bizarre captain (he always said something weird in critical moments) was amusing. Seeing him in navy clothes brought back some memories of "Under Siege", where he also appeared in the same kind of outfit, and also acted crazy throughout. Overall, I have to give this movie 5/10, because it wasn't completely bad, and some of the settings were kind of cool, but it was just unexciting, dull, and lacked genuine thrills and excitement..But to be honest, this movie just lacks the presence of Steven Seagal.. Billy Dee Williams and a crew of Navy Seals led by Billy Warlock doesn't quite cut it.

This has got to be one of the worst movies made in recent years. It's a low budget rip-off of "The Hunt for Red October" with acting so atrocious it's laughable. This is definitely one to miss. I have no idea how they got Gary Busey to do this film.