U-571

As far as thrillers go, U-571 is a well made film. Although it's historical inaccuracies are awful, it still serves as a great theater experience. It won a well deserved Oscar for it's sound, which, in the right theater, makes the film well worth the admission. Sound is the key essential to U-571.

The characters are simple, the plot is simple, and the film probably won't haunt you long after you've seen it, but that's OK. Just sit back and enjoy the claustrophobic sets, the deafening sound effects, and the non-stop action for what it's worth.

As a retired USN Master Chief I found the action scenes to be interesting and entertaining but was not convinced that the actors made their audience believe that they were submariners, or even- sailors. I know that a sailor would never get away with direct disobedience of an Officer's order as Palladino did without severe consequences during WWII. The underwater scenes were weak and the models just passable. Must not have had a real submariner for Technical Adviser....be I did get the feeling that the leaky, squirting episodes represented the condition of an old boat. The German sailors, on the other hand, seemed more realistic. For that matter, I doubt that the US Sailors could have put up much of an offense.

U-571 is an action film with quite a budget for the time. It is not a history war action film, although, in the end, they do a fast scroll of historical facts for some reason.

The film is not very accurate with its facts, and I'm not talking about the specifics of submarines or naval battles, uniforms, or something like this but rather general believability. Some of the things we see feel very unrealistic and more Hollywood-like.

The film has an all-star cast, but there are no good characters for the actors to work with. Most of them are very generic, while some are downright ignorant and unresponsible. They build up a lot of general patriotic stereotypes, but these just don't contribute to a good film in my opinion.

This film was clearly inspired by THE BEST submarine film ever made - Das Boot, it has some of the similar scenes, music choices, and more. What it doesn't have though are believable characters. We have just plain basic good guys and the bad guys. One side is pure evil, the other is just good in every aspect. I thought that they would do something interesting with the German captain, but they never did, he's just evil. I thought there will be some internal drama written for Matthew McConaughey, but there really isn't. His character just spills out very basic cliche inspirational speeches and that's it. Nobody on the boat acts like a real human being.

While it had some good tense action scenes... there's nothing in the film besides that. Just lots of cliches, general stereotypes, sugary patriotism, and historical revisionism.

First, don't call me crazy for the 7/10 rating. I over-rated this movie a bit, I figure I enjoyed it enough from a screenplay and acting prospective to give it only 4. I kept waiting for Bon Jovi to break out in song! However, I like Matthew M. and Harvey K. a lot (Bill P. not so much) and I thought in my mind they propelled (mind the pun) movie a bit for me. Also, my opinions on a film are based on the complete experience - story. screenplay, acting, effects, sound, etc. I find the soundtrack was great and so were the sets, camera angles etc. This created an enjoyable experience in my opinion. It's funny to observe, but if you read ratings on this title from home theater buffs - everybody thinks this is a great movie. But critics such as those on this site hate it. I'd like to think I appreciate films from all sides, therefore my 7/10 score.

It's 1941. The German U-Boats are wreaking havoc in the North Atlantic, sinking every Allied ship in their path and threatening to cut off the critical supply line from America to Britain that is saving the Allied War Effort. In a Special Operation Mission a US Submarine Crew, headed by Captain Dahlgren (Bill Paxton), are sent to capture the Enigma Code (the German Code that is allowing them to position there submarines without alerting the Allies) which will change the course of the war.

The main plot of the movie, thought completely fictional, works well and maintains a viewers interest. However, it is sure to raise a lot of controversial discussion as it was the British and not the Americans who recovered the Enigma Machine in World War II. Unlike standard submarine movies U-571 is full of twists and turns, especially in the first hour. Because of this U-571 is definitely a film that you have to concentrate in otherwise you'll miss a lot of vital information.

It is obvious that writer-director Jonathan Mostow has researched U-571 well as the nail-biting tension is ever present in the confines of a cramped submarine with a very stressed crew. Mostow's strongest point in this film would be his directing which keeps any viewer tuned in and on the edge of their seats. The camera work is brilliant and Mostow in several scenes keeps the viewer guessing what will come next in this nail-biting epic. The most notable sequence occurs when a Nazi Destroyer is dropping depth charges to try and kill the US Navy Crew. One second the viewer is watching a depth charge mercilessly head for the submarine and the next moment the viewer is watching the reaction of the Navy Crew. Sequences like this truly bring a realistic touch to the film.

The acting is just as brilliant as the directing. This is mostly because the cast were out at sea in a fully working submarine while filming U-571. Actors such as Matthew McConaughey are truly brilliant. Fear and stress is ever present on their faces and highly emotional times come across brilliantly. Other actors such as Harvey Keitel are brilliant but Jon Bon Jovi is the biggest surprise of the film. He does a brilliant job with this film and you're left wondering whether or not that was truly him.

My main disappointment in the film was the musical score by Richard Marvin. Don't take that the wrong way, the score was good. However, at times it could have been just that little bit better. There were scenes where the music was raging but dead silence would have had a better effect on the audience.

I was also disappointed with the end of the film. As a fan of 1981's Das Boot I don't think the ending of any submarine film could ever be as good. However, that's not to say that the U-571 was bad.

All in all U-571 is a brilliant film that is well worth seeing. You'll be left on the edge of your seat as you wonder what is coming next. Twists and turns will at times leave you a tad confused but just add to the emotion that you have for the characters. This is the sort of film you have to truly see in the cinema with surround sound, however, I can imagine that the DVD will be superb! I give it 4/5 stars.