Three star

ALL-American hero Harrison Ford and Brit Liam Neeson play the leads in this '60s Cold War drama based on a true story.

Russian submarine K-19, named the Widowmaker by its crew after a handful of men died building it, is readied and launched, captained by Alexei Vostrikov (Ford).

After a quick test of the nuclear missiles, K-19 is sent to American waters but soon hit a snag as they find the onboard nuclear reactor is leaking, putting crew and missiles at risk.

But for giving the sub to the Americans, which is not an option, all that can be done is to stop the leak by entering the nuclear reactor, meaning certain death by radiation for some of the crew -- but how many?

There's definitely something about submarine films that get the heart beating.

Whatever it is, this film certainly has enough to keep you interested for two hours, but however much you like Harrison Ford it's hard not to notice the dodgy Russian accent he puts on throughout the movie - not a patch on Sean Connery in The Hunt for Red October, another sub classic.

Neeson, who plays Mikhail Polenin, Vostrikov's right hand man, carries the Russian accent off with ease, as does most of the other crew.

MS