Search - Danger Beneath the Sea on DVD

Barbara B. (stitch0852)
Reviewed on 3/3/2009...

This is another of those movies that aspires to represent the United States military (in this case the US Navy) and fails miserably.

Gerald McRaney is a very good actor and possibly so is Casper Van Dien, however, being retired USN, the errors glared.

1. The Submarine Service pin is not as gaudy as depicted in this film. It is too large and the tails of the dolphins do not protrude down as they do here. It looks fake because it is.

2. Gerald McRaney not only plays an Admiral, he is supposed to the the head of the Squadron of submarines. His uniform has gross errors.
a. His ribbons, while in the proper order were not researched sufficiently. He has the Liberation of Kuwait Ribbon from Kuwait but not the Southwest Asia (that I saw) nor the Liberation of Kuwait from Saudia Arabia. You cannot have one without the other. Someone ran down a shopping list and did not know the requirements for them.

3. ADM Justice (Gerald McRaney) does not wear submarine service (SS) dolphins, however, according to the pin on the pocket under his ribbons he made at least one patrol on a submarine. No ADM would have been promoted if he could not have obtained SS qualifications.

4. Casper Van Dien is far too young to have command of a submarine.

5. The Chief of the Boat (COB) or Command Master Chief is shown with four ribbons. NO E-9 would have reached that rank OR the CMC or COB billet with only four ribbon, particularly when one is the National Defense given to EVERY Sailor who was in service at the time and that was the third of the fourth, the last is even more worthless in the advancement scheme.

Submarines possess underwater telephones, etc for communications, if nothing else the submarine that was sent to search for the missing boat WOULD have been able to communicate in some fashion. Another commanding officer of a vessel in the USN would not arbitrarily attack a fellow submariner without attempting every means possible to reach them first. This is most likely the reason why there was no USN support for the film.

Having been aboard submarines many times, the interior, particularly when the crew could be seen running through the passageways when attempting to help the captain reassume command are WAY too big!

Where were the knee knockers? A submarine, as every other USN vessel has water tight doors that must be stepped over. Ladders are narrow, one person wide, and cramped. Space is a premium, especially aboard a submarine so space is not wasted on passageways and ladderwells.

Also, there is a scene when the captain is on the conning tower (outside the top of the sub underway) with the second in command, executive officer or XO. He tells the XO to clear the bridge but he goes down first. The CO is the last one down when in this position to ensure everyone is off the bridge before the boat submerges.

There were some scenes that seemed reminiscent of Crimson Tide scenes.

For those who are unfamiliar with the workings of the US military, this movie may seem believable and possible, however, please do not be fooled by movie magic into thinking this is how the U.S. Navy actually is.

By the way, the Sailor who whigs out from claustrophobia? He would NEVER have made it aboard to begin with, testing would have shown this prior to his assignment.

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