Phantom, 2013.
Written and Directed by Todd Robinson.
Starring Ed Harris, David Duchovny, William Fichtner, Lance Henriksen, Jason Beghe, Kip Pardue, and Sean Patrick Flanery.
SYNOPSIS:
The haunted Captain of a Soviet submarine holds the fate of the world in his hands. Forced to leave his family behind, he is charged with leading a covert mission cloaked in mystery.
We have had countless war films over the years. The world wars of the 20th century have provided ample stories for filmmakers to tell. The Vietnam War likewise has, and so has the Cold War. There are probably innumerable source stories from almost all major conflicts that could provide an interesting cinematic journey. In Phantom we have a combination of Cold War film, and the similarly popular submarine sub-genre.
Now right off the bat there is a major problem with Phantom. The story centres around the Russian crew of an old diesel submarine, about to be decommissioned and gifted to the Chinese army. Ed Harris plays the captain. In addition to Harris, the cast includes David Duchovny, William Fichtner, Kip Pardue and Lance Henriksen among others. It’s a solid cast, but every character in this has an American accent. They’re Russian soldiers. They’re fighting the Americans. They have American accents. Now this wouldn’t be the first war film to forgo shooting in the native language of the nation being portrayed, nor would it be the first film to avoid putting on dodgy accents, but it just doesn’t feel right in this film. The soldiers sound American, they act stereotypically how cinema would portray American soldiers, as opposed to Russian soldiers. Now granted the depiction of the Russian soldier previously seen in film could be wrong in general terms, but it doesn’t disguise the fact that much of this film feels very wrong, and just a little bit tasteless.
Okay so American accents aside, how does the film stack up? Well it is sadly unable to hold interest to anything like the level you’d expect from a good cold war espionage thriller. Harris has control of a sub, whilst Duchovny plays a rogue KGB agent bent taking it over and starting World War 3. Now this was apparently based on a true story. The source material is interesting. This could have made a really engaging film, but it’s handled with a degree of laziness, disrespect and no small amount of mediocrity by writer/director Todd Robinson. I’d love to see Russian cinema bringing this tale to life with a Russian cast and a bit of due respect and better attention to detail. Likewise this film descends into schmaltz by the end, whilst Demi’s (Harris) insistence to be sympathetic to the empathetic American soldiers seems a little contrived and cynical. Obviously as an American made film, from the enemies perspective they felt it safe not to portray the films enemy side (the Americans) in any negative light. It’s a little forced and a little naïve. Above all else this film just feels incredibly “American” in all aspects. Had this been about the American side of some battle, it would have been more apt, but it wasn’t.
Technically the film is reasonably made. It’s clearly lacking the budget of bigger rivals of the genre, but it looks okay, the score by Jeff Rona is serviceable and the visual effects are average. The cast are pretty decent though, despite the accent issue. Ed Harris is the sort of intense actor who’ll always give his all and here is no different. He’s ably supported by Fichtner, while Duchovny makes a slimy enough (though thinly drawn) antagonist.
In all, Phantom is largely forgettable and an exercise in Hollywood futility. To push this film to willing markets would have taken a great deal more effort in production and a handling of more respect. The fact it was so lackadaisically made is reflected in the films poor box office. It will go by largely unnoticed, even to fans of War films and history buffs.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Tom Jolliffe
Originally published August 19, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
