Torpedo

Not sure if this was meant a parodie, or if it's just a... low budget, bad acted, historically inaccurate, lousy dubbed, flimsy special effect., loaded with the usual idiosyncrasies and characters of the genre... attempt to a war movie. Still if you're bored and you have nothing better to do and you don't have to pay 15 bucks for a ticket and stream it at home on a lazy Sunday morning from your couch, it's entertaining enough to waste 100 minutes of your life... No idea why it gets this high rating on IMDB, (famous for the ratings) but why the hell not... I can't give it more than a 5, cause I wasn't alone on the couch.

In Belgium this was seen as never done before. A movie in a submarine. All big names of Belgium thespians are in it as dis some faces you thought, hell, that's been a while.

Starts off with a bit of humor over it, the bathtub scene and the german losing his head. Though guys who are asked for a dirty job. That reminded me immediately to those old westerns. By bringing in the humor, you don't take it all to serious and it's best you don't because the last 30 minutes things are done that just couldn't be done. Swimming for example without any protection over 100 meters down below.

But I must say, even as it has it flows, towards the end it picks up the best of it and delivers an above mediocre flick. Of course, love, racism. nationality, it's all there, full of clichés but it do works.

If the humor had been discarded it would be much better. A mixture of all those flicks with subs in it.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

Interesting movie right from the start. Very real looking submarine action, good plot twists, interesting characters. Much better than I thought it would be. For sure worth a watch!

Outside of the mediocre dubbing, this is a typical submarine flick... which is not a bad thing. Pretty much keeps you on the edge of your seat most of the way. No surprises, but well done. It gave a real feel for the confinement inside an old submarine. Considering that the action was right on, there was, perhaps, a bit more character development than actually needed. Did we need to know that one of the crew did not like blacks? Didn't really impact the plot in any way. The improbability factor got a bit high in places, and the (first) ending was a bit "we ran out of money" ish, but overall very well done.

I'm sure people will enjoy this movie. It's like having that kinda cocktail, bittersweet with a taste of lemon. All ingredients are there: humor, sadness, action, drama and a slice of horror.

Is it Oscar worthy? No, but it was never made to be a big pricewinner. It was made for those who appreciate and enjoy a movie without expecting deep Shakespearian dialogues. For people that just want to leave the cinema, having a had a good time.

Koen De Bouw remains one of Belgians finest.

Overall, taking into account the limited budget I'd give it a 7/10.