Before Harrison Ford assumed the mantle of playing Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan hero in Patriot Games; Alec Baldwin took a swing at the character in this John McTiernan film and hit one to the fence. If less instantly sympathetic than Ford; Baldwin is in some respects more interesting and nuanced as Ryan; and drawing comparisons between both actors' performances can make for some interesting postmovie discussion. That aside; The Hunt for Red October stands alone as a uniquely exciting adventure with a fantastic costar: Sean Connery as a Russian nuclear submarine captain attempting to defect to the West on his ship. Ryan must figure out his true motives for approaching the U.S. McTiernan (Predator; Die Hard) made an exceptionally handsome movie here with action sequences that really do take one's breath away. --Tom Keogh