Greyhound: en la mira del enemigo

Honestly, I decided to write a review to counter some of the more trivial reviews found in this thread and to try and present an objective perspective of this film.

Firstly, the dialogue in this movie is typical for a movie depicting World War II Naval life and is accurate to the time period. Do not watch this film if you expect anything other than period correct Naval terminology or the constant passing of orders between the captain and the crew, as you are not going to be satisfied with this movie. Ninety percent of the dialogue in this movie relates to the business of conducting asymmetrical naval combat in a high-speed situation and is way too short to have a grand introspective or extrospective expose on the psychology of warfare or one's place in the world. Sadly, the short length of this film prevents any adequate amount of time dedicated to forging interesting and dynamic characters or a complex plot with a villain that was somewhat pointless. If anything, the director should have lengthened the film to expound upon the narrative and bring our cautious, somewhat hesitant, captain to life or pick a handful of critical Sailors to develop a relationship with within 80-minute time constraint.

Secondly, there are better movies or shows that depict the Battle of the Atlantic which brings me to my second point. If anything; this film should have been broken into a mini-series, like Das Boot or a full feature series like Band of Brothers or The Pacific. Had the directors decided to embark upon that route, we could have had a significantly stronger plot and been able to identify with the characters in a more empathetic way. As a former United States Navy Sailor, I felt right at home with the style, accuracy, and briskness with which the film endeavored to portray. However, I did not find myself overly attached to any of the featured characters. In fact, the film attempts to "show" us that we should feel shocked, saddened, or disheartened by the plight of these Sailors, however, without any in-depth character development, I found it difficult for me to feel any more than somewhat saddened, and by the time that I did experience this emotion, the movie moved onto another chaotic event. Reflecting upon the movie now, maybe that is the point of the plot? Maybe, the film tries to showcase that the chaos of battle does not grant us a moment of emotional expression aside from the adrenaline rush of combat or a life-threatening event. In any case, if you are looking for significant character development, and a grander view of the Battle of the Atlantic at large, this is certainly not the film for you.

Lastly, I do not, in any capacity, feel like I wasted an hour and half of my life like some of the other viewers felt. For me, it was a nostalgic trip back into an old life that I long forgotten and I enjoyed every minute of this film despite its shortcomings. Has Tom Hanks done better? Certainly. Did I think he did a poor job with this film? Absolutely not. While my main complaint is that this film could have been significantly longer, I am left with a desire to want to explore more in regards to the treacherous Battle of the Atlantic and the men of all nations who participated.

Overall - I was pleasantly surprised with this movie, and while I felt that this film could have been produced as its own mini-series in order to develop the plot and the characters better, I thoroughly enjoyed my time, and I am sure I will return to it again in the future.

Enjoy!

Loved the authenticity and general faithfulness to the technical side of naval warfare. For me, this is a great movie, I love seeing small little details in how the captain commands his vessel, and every crewman doing their job, and quick glances to the CiC trying to keep track of enemy vessels. The movie didn't need to show the crewman following the captain around and repeating every word that Sonar/Radar reports, but it does so and adds a very nice detail that I found to be great, and also helped build the stress and tension everyone was under.

My only complaint is that the movie could have been longer. I could definately have watched a 3 hour version of this that took it slower in the style of Das Boot. Other than that, I recommend this movie for anyone that loves the more technical parts of warfare and especially naval vessels.

I served on a destroyer during the Korean War. This movie really captured the excitement of being on the bridge during convoy duty.

Having served in the Cold War on both a destroyer and on a submarine, I found this story contrasting the tensions between both worlds. The action is shown from the bridge, CIC, and decks of the Greyhound, which BTW is the slang term for destroyers and those who serve on them. Hanks subtly conveys the ache of leaving a loved one behind and her presence with him during the battle. He and his crew feel the presence of the subs stalking the surface ships and the deaths of sailors both above and below the icy water. There is no perfect rendering of combat in film, but the repeated commands and protocols between naval personnel and vessels are accurate enough to convey a sense of proper urgency to the story. Compressing roughly 48 tense hours into a ~2 hour film doesn't give much time to absorb all that's happening, and that's the point. Training and subsequent reactions shape the story in the faces of the bridge crew as they watch the captain and follow his orders which he does not explain. This is about relationships between combatants, among the ships in the convoy, and between U.S. and British allies. This film, The Enemy Below, and Das Boot make a reasonable trilogy for a weekend marathon. Enjoy this story from either a technical or a relational view as you see fit.

This is a movie about the procedure of command. This is an innately more complex task than the more common episodic approach that buries the procedural reality under a mask of plot and character. But this film pulls it off, largely by not shying away from the task.

Guess what? Naval warfare, especially the sort of highly asymmetric warfare shown here, doesn't really revolve around the captain demanding more speed while the engineer says she canna take it. If you're looking for a movie that's truly respectful of the labours and sacrifices made in the Battle of the Atlantic, then this is a fitting tribute.

Don't expect a character movie, don't expect to spend time below decks exploring the usual stereotypes. This movie is seen through the eyes of the captain, and the captain alone. I can think of very few other films that dare to depict the loneliness of command quite so clearly. There's little time for thought, there's no time to process or even truly grasp the horrors that they encounter (something which forms one of the roots of PTSD). What there is is the fight.

The fight is relentless and deeply technical. We've become used to fight scenes carrying a few bits of technical gibberish followed by some visceral and personalised action. There's no gibberish in this film, and the latter consists of the captain cutting his feet on broken glass. The movie, like the mind of the captain, is consumed with the intricate technical and personal demands required to hunt down a submarine at that time. That was clearly the aim here, and the movie has succeeded admirably at showing that particular aspect of this type of warfare. This is not a common way to stage a war movie, but it's worth doing well on a few occasions, and this movie achieves its goal.

The reviews show that many come looking for something more conventional, and end up missing the point, which is a shame.