USS Greyhound : La Bataille de l'Atlantique

Spectacle? Dramatization? No. This movie allowed me to experience ww2 naval combat without the bombast of the usual action movie. It felt realistic with a decent amount of suspense, a glimpse through the eyes of the captain.

I will keep this short, I enjoyed the movie, the action and atmosphere was gripping. My only issue was the historically inaccurate scene at the end of the film when you see a troop ship with several thousand men cheering the Greyhound and its captain as they break off screening the convoy. No troop ship would ever sail in a convoy. Troop ships were usually passenger liners which could travel at 25-30 knots. This speed meant that u-boats usually could not target them, most troop ships travelled solo. A convoy could only travel at the speed of its slowest ship which sometimes was only 8-10 knots. The allies would never risk a troop ship under those conditions.

Not sure why there's so much criticism. This was a thoughtful showing of what must have been a terrifying time for all the crews in the Atlantic It gave us nothing more than getting straight to the point kill or be killed in 24 hrs and to think the reality would have gone on for weeks . I thought the effects were great and the realism worked well , really saw what a cold , wet and very hostile place and they were stuck in a very cramped tin tub without a break . Because it was only about a day then the film is kept very short , especially compared to most nowadays. Just watch and enjoy and thank it will never be like that for any of us

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.

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!