Maverick Navy Lieutenant Commander Tom Dodge will never be a textbook officer, but he's a brilliant seaman who's always wanted to command a nuclear submarine — he's been given one last chance to clean up his record. Unfortunately, Admiral Graham, his nemesis, would rather sink the fleet than give Dodge his own boat. So, Graham stacks the deck against him and assigns Dodge to the Stingray, a diesel-powered WW2 submarine that can barely keep afloat. To make matters worse, Dodge's crew is a collection of maladjusted, mistake-prone misfits. Then, he's tagged the "enemy" in a crucial war game, and ordered to take on the U.S. Navy's best.
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There are some films everyone should have in their DVD collection because they are fun to watch more than once. Down Periscope is in that mix along with such as Operation Mad Ball (Lemmon/Kovacs) or The Wackiest Ship in the Army (Lemmon/Nelson) or Operation Petticoat (Grant/Curtis). These are B pictures but are fun and provide chuckles along the way. Kelsey Grammar is fine. Lauren Holly before her NCIS days, Bruce Dern, William H. Macy, Rip Torn, and Harry Dean Stanton join in no doubt for the money but they all probably had a good time. Sometimes on a rainy or snowy afternoon there is nothing better than a good B picture.
Military movies are hammed-up cringe-fests. Feel-good movies are so sickening, they induce projectile vomiting.This movie is a feel-good military (submarine) movie that actually works. Whilst it does have a sprinkling of cheese and some quite puerile moments it is largely inoffensive and quite funny.I couldn't fault the actors, the script, the characters or the general premise.Even better, I wouldn't hesitate to let my kids see it and wouldn't hesitate to watch it again.This movie might not win any prizes or - god forbid - earn cult status; but what it DOES do is entertain and it does that very well.
I saw this movie at a small group night and really approached it with a cynical outlook. In my opinion most American comedies tend not to be all that funny (probably because I do not get their sense of humour). It takes a special comedy to appeal to me. I hate slapstick and the movie spoofs like Spy Hard have simply become so dull that they are no longer funny. Sometimes though there is an American film that actually has some life in it, and Down Periscope is one of them.This movie is a bumbling idiot comedy. Basically, like Police Academy, it is about a group of bumbling idiots who are given an impossible assignment and through some twist of fate they succeed. An irresponsible officer is given an opportunity to prove himself and is given an antiquated submarine and a crew of hopeless idiots and he is commanded to destroy two major naval ports, one in Charlston and the other at Norfolk. This is basically an impossible task for this is ancient submarine that still runs on diesel.I sort of like bumbling idiot movies, as long as they are done well. Down Periscope kept me interested and kept the laughs through to the end. It was not a hilarious movie at the beginning only to die at the end. It actually keeps the laughs going through. Yes, Down Periscope is worth it.
This is a really good submarine movie, in the tradition of +DestinationTokyo +Run Silent, Run Deep +Gray lady downAltho the crew is a bunch of "characters" -- just like many war movies -- they are not really a bunch of screw-ups. Kelsey Grammar plays it straight, and he seems to be the kind of skipper we would all like to have. For me, the movie delivered 110% -- I don't have much patience for nonsense anymore, but this one was GREAT!! Settle down and watch it like it deserves.Rick Jolley Tombstone, AZ
