Don't for one minute expect to see a movie about man's heroic assault on the peak of the world's nineteenth highest mountain.

Instead, you get a dull but worthy reconstruction of the cursed maiden voyage of the Russian nuclear submarine, K-19, at the peak of the Cold War.

Captain Alexei Vostriko (Ford) is ordered to take charge of the vessel from its original commander, Captain Mikhail Polenin (Neeson), when he doesn't get it ship-shape in time.

It's a bit of a radioactive poisoned chalice for Vostriko - a handful of men, including the ship's doctor, have already died while it was in dry dock...hence the nickname Widowmaker.

The two leaders are markedly different men. Vostriko is a strict "mission oriented" officer, while Polenin is more one of the lads and is loved and trusted by his underlings.

Once underway, Vostriko tests the K-19 and its crew to the utmost degree - buckling its steel panels while diving barely short of the fatal "crush" depth nearly 1,000ft down.

Then Vostriko gets the order to head for the patrol station off the American East coast, unaware that the sub has been mortally crippled.

What has until now been a routine thriller now steps up a gear when the atomic sub's cooling system springs a leak and the reactor core begins to heat up.

Vostriko is forced to send a group of engineers into the reactor compartment to seal the leak...but the operation releases massive amounts of radiation through the ship.

To complicate matters, he's also having a continuous war of words with Polenin, and now there's the prospect of World War III being sparked by his ship's nuclear meltdown.

Based on true events (but kept secret until the disintegration of the Soviet Union), Bigelow maintains a very respectful approach to the heroic officers and crew of the K-19.

And herein lies the problem. While appearing churlish to gripe, boredom sets in very quickly and there's only so long you'd want to spend in a cinematic washing machine with the spin cycle set on slow.

Neeson's Russian accent is about as stable as the sub's nuclear reactor while Ford goes through the motions but never fully engages as the iron-willed skipper.

Polenin's motivation as a loyal but demoted captain is confused, especially when he backs the stubborn Vostriko against his own men.

And, unfortunately, the last time we see these salty old sea dogs they don't resemble anyone as much as a maritime version of Morecambe & Wise.

Tim Evans