Submerged

I read the book and happened to be channel surfing when the Submerged movie came on.... Found it very enjoyable and had to find another showing to get the first 15 minutes. Sam Neil does a wonderful Mumson. Overall very close to book and Special Effects are also well done...

This is a relatively faithful recounting of the dramatic rescue of most of the crew of USS Squalus, which went down while conducting diving drills near the Portsmouth, NH Navy Yard in October 1939.

Of course, some liberties had to be taken for dramatic purposes, but key events, such as the divers suffering from the effects of such a deep dive (over 230 feet), and the fact that the rescue bell got stuck coming up with the last of the survivors, requiring yet another harrowing dive to free them, are handled well. Considering the press attention this event got at the time, the total absence of reporters from the movie is surprising, but sort of refreshing in a way.

That said, I never really was engrossed in this movie, with many of the dramatic moments falling flat. Maybe that's because I knew how it would turn out, but still, one would think the film could be a bit better paced. All in all, a 7.

As my wife is the great grand daughter of Adml. Momsen this movie teaches the historical fact as to the type of person he was. I will get a copy of it. The acting was great as they showed all the emotion involved in a tragic event in the US Navy history.

Submarine down ... men trapped .. dramatic rescue ... very promising elements .. but fails to deliver. The best ingredients are a waste on a poor chef, and that is what happened here. A pretty marketable story, by a good author, but too many corners cut in this made for TV snoozer. The story line was poorly paced to build any tension, the young lovers subplot was underdeveloped and all of the acting was generally weak. If you need to kill some time - fine; if you are a real naval fanatic - fine; but if there are other choices, they will probably be better.

Sam Neill is great in this. The movie is well done and is understated and not over the top like a lot of other submarine movies try to be. Whigham is also great. This is an underrated movie, and one not many people have seen apparently!