I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed 1980’s Raise the Titanic, but that doesn’t mean it’s great. While it differs from the Clive Cussler novel on which it was based (the author hated the adaptation) and failed to launch hero Dirk Pitt (played by a bearded Richard Jordan) into a franchise I found it to be a surprisingly crisply told tale with (mostly) solid practical effects, great production value, and a cast filled with familiar actors.

Jordon leads the cast alongside Jason Robards as Admiral Sandecker, Anne Archer, M. Emmett Walsh, David Selby, Elya Baskin, and Alec Guinness. Pitt is called in to help the U.S. Navy to search for the sunken Titanic, which at the time of the book’s writing was believed to have sunk whole, as opposed to breaking apart on the surface. There’s a macguffin of a rare element in one of the ship’s holds that is desperately needed for a U.S. defence system, which brings in Cold War elements and gives the government the reason it needs to invest in such a huge project.

With a somber, and mysterious John Barry score, Pitt and Sandecker organize the search, discovery and raising of the ship, which alternately features some solid underwater work and some iffy model work. In fact, but for the exceptionally bad model work, the film remains fairly engaging and sets the stage for the techo-thrillers that Tom Clancy would deliver so well.

I’m a little unsure about Jordan’s performance as Pitt. While he seems on the ball, he doesn’t seem to be as much of a go-getter and doer as the books portray him – something I may have to return to soon, I haven’t read a Cussler novel since before I started the blog. Jordan’s version doesn’t seem to be the man-of-action Cussler created and doesn’t seem to have his sense of humour either. There are moments when the character seems rough and dangerous, but never completely realized.

The Cold War aspects could have been played up a little more, as well as the politics, but the underwater exploration sequences are done well, though the submersible interiors needed to feel a little more claustrophobic.

A stronger script and better effects may have served this film a little better, not to mention some character moments for Pitt, especially if they really wanted to establish him as a hero to lead a franchise.

I do believe Dirk Pitt could be a wonderful theatrical franchise. To do that you need to find the right studio willing to properly finance them, the right actor willing to commit to the role, and you have to honour the stories, the science and history behind them, and embrace the epic nature of each of the stories, and not skimp on the essentials of solid script, location, effects, and actors.

Or maybe a television series that adapts books from season to season. It’d be fun to see, but I’m not sure it will ever happen, not after this film, and the second cinematic attempt, Sahara.