Steel Sharks (1997) User Reviews (12)

Brought back memories of "Under Siege"...

[KnatLouie · 5/10 · 21 May 2002]

This movie started out very slow, but then picked up the pace, and started to become more exciting. I nearly fell asleep during the first half hour, but sort of woke up during the last parts of the film, when you got to know the characters a bit better, and their escape from the submarine began.

I thought it was kind of funny that the foreigners couldn't decide on whether to speak in their native language, or to speak English, it just seemed like improvised play and/or poor planning.

I liked most of the actors though, and especially thought that Gary Busey's portrayal of the bizarre captain (he always said something weird in critical moments) was amusing. Seeing him in navy clothes brought back some memories of "Under Siege", where he also appeared in the same kind of outfit, and also acted crazy throughout. Shaun Toub does a good job as the rival Iraqi/Iranian submarine-captain too, albeit a quite typical "bad middle-eastern warmonger" portrayal though.

Overall, I have to give this movie 5/10, because it wasn't completely bad, and some of the settings were kind of cool, but it was just unexciting, dull, and lacked genuine thrills and excitement..

But to be honest, this movie just lacks the presence of Steven Seagal.. Billy Dee Williams giving orders through a walkie-talkie, and a crew of generic Navy Seals led by Billy Warlock doesn't quite cut it.

Bad movie

[martin_humble · 3/10 · 8 November 2001]

Full of flaws, stiff acting, bad effects, bad plot and very silly stereotypes of non-american soldiers. This is a bad movie but somewhat exciting a second or two with Gary Busey, excellent as always, in one role but this does not save this silly movie. Not even watchable for a laugh. Not recommended; 3/10.

Silent as you go. Mediocre submarine flick.

[michaelRokeefe · 4/10 · 13 September 2007]

Very predictable, but entertaining. Dr. Van Tasset(Barry Livingston)is an American expert on chemical weapons, who is kidnapped following a military coup in Iran. An elite squad of the Navy Seals called the "Steel Sharks" are assigned to rescue him. The "Sharks" are led by Lt. Zambroski(David Roberson)and last minute new member Bob Rogers(Billy Warlock), who has doubts of living up to the Seals standards. Capt. McKay(Gary Busey), commander of the submarine the USS Oakland, draws the assignment from Admiral Perry(Billy Dee Williams)to take the "Sharks" to Iran. Van Tasset is rescued, but along with the "Sharks" are captured and held prisoner on an Iranian submarine. Thus comes the expected underwater duel. Very few surprises. I still don't get the prudence of a gun battle on a submerged submarine. Also in the cast: Anthony Griffith, Tim Lounibos and Matthew R. Anderson. I have always been a sucker for submarine flicks.

Not a rip off!

[ragnarok-3 · 25 February 2000]

Steel Sharks may not the best or well acted movie ever made, but neither is it the worst. It is also not a rip off of "The Hunt for Red October". To say that it is, is like saying that "The Hunt for Red October" is a rip off of "Up Periscope". The films have nothing in common other than the fact that they have submarines in them. Steel Sharks is about a Seal Team rescue mission. It has nothing to do with stealing submarines from the Russians. It is a tight and fast paced story with little or no loose ends. "The Hunt for Red October" was a film with a message, Steel Sharks had no such lofty goals. It sought only to entertain, and it does. I was entertained.

why do they bother making films like this?

[moviefiend-1 · 2/10 · 15 March 2005]

i'll be honest i only picked this up 'cause Busey was in it...usually like his roles, but i don't think I've ever seen an actor wing it in like Gary did here. Every single scene he's in he stands emotionless reading off his lines, an easy pay-day for Gary is suppose but sheer torture for his fans.

this film is basically a crap submarine rescue film, nothing interesting happens, the action is tame, the story is child like, the acting unspectacular.

avoid this forever, even if your a Gary Busey fan please do not watch this.

why do they bother?

Submarine action for cheap.

[DigitalRevenantX7 · 4/10 · 13 October 2013]

Story Synopsis: The USA is put on high alert when the Islamist government of Iran is overthrown in a bloody coup. At the same time, Dr. Van Tassel, a chemical weapons expert who is working with the UN to examine Iraqi armouries, is abducted by the Iranians, who want to use his encyclopaedic knowledge of chemical weapons in order to build up their own stockpile. The US Navy sends in a Navy SEAL team to rescue him. At first, the plan goes off without a hitch, but the SEALs are quickly overrun by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard & captured. The prisoners are transferred to one of the Iranian navy's submarines, whose commander plans to use them as a shield in order to attack US submarines with impunity. But as the American submarine in the area is dragged into a cat-&-mouse game with it, the SEALs & Van Tassel combine their knowledge in order to hijack the sub & escape before it is sunk.

Film Analysis: Steel Sharks is one of the countless direct-to-video action films made during the 1990s, a card-carrying member of the catalogue maintained by Royal Oaks Entertainment, a studio formed by former actor Andrew Stevens & former tennis player Ashok Amritraj.

As is the case with most of Royal Oaks' films, Steel Sharks is a military-themed actioner with an emphasis on US military tactics & hardware. The heroes of the film are all US military members & the film has plenty of stock footage of submarines surfacing, planes taking off aircraft carriers & so on.

While the film places priority on giving a realistic story (although I don't think that Iran's government will be overthrown for at least another couple of decades, even with the Arab Spring claiming the despots of Tunisia & Egypt & the brutal civil wars of Libya & Syria) & well-drawn characters, Steel Sharks is still a cheap action film that doesn't have any chance of rising above the flood of similar films that came out at the same time. If anything, the film (which is still a lot better than those awful actioners that Chuck Norris made during the 1980s) is something of a forgettable effort. Despite the submarine shots being rather poor model work, there is nothing wrong with the technical side of things.

The acting is, as usual with these Royal Oaks films, quite good. Billy Warlock shines as the new recruit for the SEALs team, Gary Busey (who is by nature something of an underrated actor) making a capable submarine commander & Billy Dee Williams doing it well as the Navy bigwig running the show.

Bland military thriller

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 17 January 2017]

A guy called Ronald McDonald (okay, Rodney, but I was close) directs this lousy military-themed thriller that features a few familiar faces of interest but is in every other respect something of a dud. This low budget story features a heck of a lot of stock footage scenes of helicopters and submarines and the like, but almost all of the action takes place on dark secrets and in gloomy rooms with specialist teams shooting bad guys in bloodless, repetitive interludes.

The main hero role is taken by Billy Warlock, former BAYWATCH actor but someone I know best from the delightfully surreal horror film SOCIETY. He's okay, but quite wooden here. The two old-timers in the cast are Billy Dee Williams and Gary Busey, both of whom have absolutely nothing to do aside from barking orders and acting tough. To say that they're underused is an understatement. The story fails to be exciting at very time, and the best word I can use to describe STEEL SHARKS is simply 'bland'.

Good fast paced Submarine Flick

[alielara · 8/10 · 19 November 2006]

One thing different with this movie is the pace. There is not a lot of wasted time or dialogue.

The acting may have not been the best, but having the opportunity to go to sea on an actual Los Angeles Class Fast Attack Sub, the acting presented a more realistic look at what I have experienced.

Gary Busey did a good job portraying the steely cool Capt of the USS Oakland, Billy Dee Williams on the other hand was a bit tight collared.

Anyone with a submarine movie collection should have this right besides "Hunt for Red October" and "Crimson Tide".

I would give this movie a rating of "8" counter-measures out of "10"

Worthwhile Action

[sitisapura · 6/10 · 8 January 2005]

The movie starts very slow but don't judge the movie by its initial 40 minutes at least. Story line is pretty straight forward and easy to watch. The sequences in the submarine "hunter and hunted" scenes in the second half of the movie are excellent. Acting improves all the way in the movie. You will be gripping at your arm rest to know how it will end. Somehow it seems like acting school movie for both producers and actor/actresses. But the outcome is certainly watchable. Underwater filming of the subs in motion is commendable. And I feel the end scene could have been something more glamorous and looks like the film budget hit the wall here!

Elite Navy SEAL Movie

[Evil Mole · 9 August 2001]

The main story may be too simple, i.e a person is kidnaped, a group of soldier is sent to rescue, the plan does not goes smoothly, the resue get caught and escape... , but if you have watched other movie that involve with navy SEAL, you will know that this movie is more realistic than other SEAL movies e.g The Rock, Navy SEAL, U.S Seal). The most obvious point is the movement of each SEAL units, they do not just walk, run, fire weapon... they move without opening any gap to their enemy, how they hold their weapon, how they clear each room to room, how fast can they make their assault plan before going into a room full of enemy... these above points really show us little pieces of how elite of the most highly trained commando in the world...

Watch if nothing better to do

[dunsuls-1 · 6/10 · 11 May 2012]

This film is more interesting today than when it was released in 1997.However it's still fighting WW11,not todays enemy as the script would like you to believe.Still a good sub film is hard to find.Add to it Navy Seals and its watchable one time.The plot is simple. Civilian scientist is kidnapped and the seals have to rescue him.Good stuff.The problem is that its Iran military not terrorists and the seal team sent to rescue him does but is captured itself and put on a Iranian sub which then plays "tag"with a US sub sent to extract the team after its mission.Some good navy footage as the Navy cooperated in the filming.Carriers,planes and subs,OH MY !!!! Still its good to boo the Iranians and cheer the seals even if it rings like fighting the "last"war instead of the one to come.Gary Busey plays Cmdr. Bill McKay,the USN subs captain with just enough aplomb to make you wonder if he's going to go off.Billy Dee Williams as Adm. Jim Perry head of the fleet, is really under-used and the rest of the cast is OK but not well known then or now,including the actors who played the seals.If you have nothing else to do, watch it.It's well made just not plausible.

What junk!

[JJN · 14 October 1999]

This has got to be one of the worst movies made in recent years. It's a low budget rip-off of "The Hunt for Red October" with acting so atrocious it's laughable. This is definitely one to miss. I have no idea how they got Gary Busey to do this film.