The hunt is on.

No, not an early Easter egg hunt, but the hunt to see the whirlwind of an action and suspense movie, The Hunt for Red October. The film is a finely crafted, intriguing piece, based on Tom Clancy's novel of the same name.

Red October looks like the smart person's Die Hard, with action and political rhetoric. Producers always take a chance on dismaying an audience when they add politics and technical jargon to a film marketed for mass consumption, but here these attributes do not a alienate at all thanks to a good dose of pyrotechnics that keeps the adrenaline pumping.

The film's really juicy action does not come until the end. However, the tension building to this climax keeps the film moving at an even and exciting pace.

The strong characterizations propel the picture toward greatness. Sean Connery is Soviet submarine driver Marko Ramius. Connery gives a fine performance as the somewhat egomaniacal Ramius. He seems perfectly at ease in the battle scenes, which makes his character realistic. During one crucial attack scene, Ramius takes time to inquire about the book topics of CIA book writer and analyst Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin). Here, Connery projects Ramius' cool demeanor in a way that is humorous and revealing.

Baldwin portrays Ryan with skill and dimension. Ryan must try to convince high-ranking officers of Ramius' plot to defect. He meets resistance to his theory, and Baldwin shows Ryan's fervency well. Especially effective is the scene in which Ryan speaks to the joint chiefs. Baldwin plays the scene cool, yet determined, which makes Ryan seem as knowledgeable as he should be.

Let it not be said, however, that the film's goal is anything more than to be an entertaining action film. Director John McTiernan uses editing and music to heighten the action. During one particularly intense scene, McTiernan cuts to parallel occurrences which increase the tension. McTiernan also has the entire Soviet submarine's crew singing the national anthem as they embark.

Although important in all films, Red October's set designs are especially revealing. Coming close to the black hat for the villain and the white hat for the hero syndrome, the differences between the Soviet sub Red October and the American sub Dallas provide generic cues by which viewers can distinguish "us" from "them."

October's interior is dark and ominous, with black uniform-clad sailors, while the Dallas is brighter, with more natural tones and blue uniforms. Subs are portrayed according to their level of danger; the most dangerous is also the blackest, with low-lighting that makes faces nearly indistinguishable.

While the subs serve to identify the adversaries, the film was definitely made with a post-Cold War mentality.

Ramius and his core of defecting officers seem not at all dangerous, and eventually they cease being "them." Initially all Soviet characters speak Russian, but after the first few scenes all characters speak English. In some films -- The French Connection, for example -- if the villains are foreign, their language is simply translated with subtitles to accentuate the difference between good and bad. By choosing to have all characters speak English, the Soviet characters are not seen as at all evil or removed.

The Hunt for Red October intricately mixes action and politics to create a highly stylized and entertaining film.