Bardlerx Strictly average movie

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Alistair Olson After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Dan1863Sickles I had heard for years how great this spy thriller submarine movie was supposed to be. Howard Hughes watched it over and over again, and it was so intense that he finally went insane. Football legend Jim Brown had one of his biggest roles, and presumably he was so outspoken and defiant (on and off the screen) that white Hollywood never cast him in another major motion picture. I was expecting something explosive, suspenseful, dramatic, full of action and danger. But it was absolutely terrible. The first forty minutes move at a crawl. Rock Hudson is a nice submarine captain, he has to go to the North Pole and rescue some scientists. A creepy English spy and a really dumb Russian come with him. And there's a mean black Marine officer who nobody likes. They all sit around and talk for about an hour before something happens. About an hour in, there are some cool explosions and some scary stuff under the arctic ice. But the final showdown with the Russians is laughable. And it lasts forever!One final note: there's a whole platoon of Marines in this movie. Look at their hair. They look like the Beatles! Real Marines keep their hair shaved high and tight at all times. They're called jar heads for a reason. Jim Brown yells at his platoon over and over but he never even mentions their haircuts.

Art Vandelay I've seen more believable Star Trek episodes. With more realistic set design. With better acting. Involving William Shatner. I mean, you mix Borgnine ham and Hollywood styrofoam and you get a sandwich that gives you a gut ache. My favorite part was when the Rusians - who their commie captain just proudly announced SURROUND the Americans - toss some mustard-colored cover and then open fire at will. Miraculously, only one guy catches a bullet. I assume the $8 million budget went entirely to the actors' salaries because there's no evidence money was spent on anything else.

merklekranz Then this is your movie. The entire first half seems like nothing more than technical blabber about the workings of the sub. The real mystery is not to be revealed until after intermission. However by then the audience suffering in the dark will be totally indifferent. The final confrontation is confusing and absolutely anticlimactic. I like Patrick McGoohan, but even his presence cannot save this 150 minute clunker. To top things off, the Arctic scenes look more like the set for a high school play than the frigid outdoors. In summary, "Ice Station Zebra", despite a respectable cast, is a total waste of a considerable amount of time. - MERK

SnoopyStyle A satellite capsule parachutes onto the frozen Arctic. American submarine captain Commander James Ferraday (Rock Hudson) of the USS Tigerfish is ordered up north for a secret mission under the cover of rescuing a British civilian weather station, Ice Station Zebra. He is joined by British agent Mr. Jones, Soviet defector Boris Vaslov (Ernest Borgnine), and Captain Anders (Jim Brown) and his marines.The dialog, the acting, and the camera work are all very static and stiff. There may be a couple of interesting technical aspects. The submarine diving and surfacing looks good. The underwater stuff looks good for a model. It has the rolling submarine deck. On the other hand, the Arctic exterior looks too fake. The movie lacks tension or energy. The first exciting action is breaking through the ice at the end of the first half. There is simply not enough exciting stuff going on.