U-571
"U-571", with Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Jon Bon Jovi, Harvey Keitel and David Keith. Written and directed by Jonathan Mostow. MPAA rating PG-13 for war violence. Run time 117 minutes.
A couple of things to remember about "U-571", or any moovie made about World War II - these now have to be considered as period pieces. The world of the 1940s just doesn't exist in any physical form any more. We paved over the last remnants of that culture and the things that defined it years ago. Then we have to allow for a certain number of distortions of reality for moovies to become marketable to today's audiences. That suspension of disbelief lets a screenwriter tell a story unencumbered by too many limiting facts. Once a keystone for a story has been established, the best thing to do is just run with it. "U-571" satisfies on both counts.
Matthew McConaughey is Lt. Andrew Tyler, who,in spite of his reputation for "doing it by the numbers", has just been denied his own command. His commanding officer, Lt. Commander Mike Dahlgren, (Bill Paxton) wants Tyler to get a better handle on the human side of command before he gets his own tub. Just as Tyler is about to sink into the bilge of self-pity, he and his crew are sent off on a Special OPs mission to help the Allies break the back of the German war machine.
The Mission: To liberate a German code generator - the Enigma Machine - from a crippled U-Boat, U-571, and return it to the Allies in order to help try and break the German communications codes encrypted by the Enigma, beat Germany, win the war, etc. This is part fact, part fantasy. The Enigma Machine was real, a dauntingly complex and elegant encryption device that might have been enough of a strategic advantage to turn the tide of WWII. My understanding has always been, however, that the British were responsible for acquiring and deciphering the Enigma system. At any rate, as a plot device, it's effective in giving our heroes something to risk everything for.
The crew sets out to capture the Enigma and scuttle the enemy sub before anyone catches on, but just as they're about to high tail it away from U-571, an enemy torpedo destroys their ride home, and pretty much ruins their day. To survive, they have to take over U-571, and try to figure out how to get the Enigma and themselves home without anyone seeing them. At this juncture it seems unlikely that they will ever even figure out how to read the German controls, much less make the sub actually do anything.
From here on out, the whole moovie becomes a pretty standard WWII submarine cat and mouse game, but from where I saw it, one of the best. The scenes aboard the submarine are intense and claustrophobic, built to a number of shattering crescendos by the constant bombardment of depth charges being hurled at them from a German destroyer on the surface. At first, the depth charges miss by a fair margin, but as the Germans refine their assault, the charges get closer and closer until it looks as though the commandeered and still very crippled U-Boat is all but finished.
It falls on the command-untested shoulders of Lt. Tyler to pull his crew out of what seems to be a terrifyingly hopeless and terminal situation.
This where I leave it to you - chances are there aren't that many real surprises waiting for you in "U-571"s story line, but there are plenty of switch-backs and some really intense action as the story plays out. This is a first-class nail biter, made even more dramatic by the very nature of submarine warfare - a bunch of guys trapped and trying to survive in a submerged steel deathtrap being stalked by a floating steel war machine bent on destroying them.
Did I mention claustrophobic? I was so relieved to get out into the sunshine when "U-571" ended, that I would have happily sat down and had a cup of coffee with Adam Sandler. I even noticed, on several occasions, that I had been holding my breath. The theater where I saw "U-571", had the sound set at about 7.5 on the Richter Scale, and when things got hairy, I felt as though I was right in the middle of it all. A totally immersive experience, you should excuse the pun. This is one tough moovie. "U-571" doesn't get too patriotic and doesn't wave many flags.
This isn't what I'd call a "date moovie" by any means, but it is an absolutely amazing ride, and worth the trip, whether you think you like war moovies or not.
If I could just figure out how to get them through the hatch and below decks, I'd give "U-571" four cows.
A couple of things to remember about "U-571", or any moovie made about World War II - these now have to be considered as period pieces. The world of the 1940s just doesn't exist in any physical form any more. We paved over the last remnants of that culture and the things that defined it years ago. Then we have to allow for a certain number of distortions of reality for moovies to become marketable to today's audiences. That suspension of disbelief lets a screenwriter tell a story unencumbered by too many limiting facts. Once a keystone for a story has been established, the best thing to do is just run with it. "U-571" satisfies on both counts.
Matthew McConaughey is Lt. Andrew Tyler, who,in spite of his reputation for "doing it by the numbers", has just been denied his own command. His commanding officer, Lt. Commander Mike Dahlgren, (Bill Paxton) wants Tyler to get a better handle on the human side of command before he gets his own tub. Just as Tyler is about to sink into the bilge of self-pity, he and his crew are sent off on a Special OPs mission to help the Allies break the back of the German war machine.
The Mission: To liberate a German code generator - the Enigma Machine - from a crippled U-Boat, U-571, and return it to the Allies in order to help try and break the German communications codes encrypted by the Enigma, beat Germany, win the war, etc. This is part fact, part fantasy. The Enigma Machine was real, a dauntingly complex and elegant encryption device that might have been enough of a strategic advantage to turn the tide of WWII. My understanding has always been, however, that the British were responsible for acquiring and deciphering the Enigma system. At any rate, as a plot device, it's effective in giving our heroes something to risk everything for.
The crew sets out to capture the Enigma and scuttle the enemy sub before anyone catches on, but just as they're about to high tail it away from U-571, an enemy torpedo destroys their ride home, and pretty much ruins their day. To survive, they have to take over U-571, and try to figure out how to get the Enigma and themselves home without anyone seeing them. At this juncture it seems unlikely that they will ever even figure out how to read the German controls, much less make the sub actually do anything.
From here on out, the whole moovie becomes a pretty standard WWII submarine cat and mouse game, but from where I saw it, one of the best. The scenes aboard the submarine are intense and claustrophobic, built to a number of shattering crescendos by the constant bombardment of depth charges being hurled at them from a German destroyer on the surface. At first, the depth charges miss by a fair margin, but as the Germans refine their assault, the charges get closer and closer until it looks as though the commandeered and still very crippled U-Boat is all but finished.
It falls on the command-untested shoulders of Lt. Tyler to pull his crew out of what seems to be a terrifyingly hopeless and terminal situation.
This where I leave it to you - chances are there aren't that many real surprises waiting for you in "U-571"s story line, but there are plenty of switch-backs and some really intense action as the story plays out. This is a first-class nail biter, made even more dramatic by the very nature of submarine warfare - a bunch of guys trapped and trying to survive in a submerged steel deathtrap being stalked by a floating steel war machine bent on destroying them.
Did I mention claustrophobic? I was so relieved to get out into the sunshine when "U-571" ended, that I would have happily sat down and had a cup of coffee with Adam Sandler. I even noticed, on several occasions, that I had been holding my breath. The theater where I saw "U-571", had the sound set at about 7.5 on the Richter Scale, and when things got hairy, I felt as though I was right in the middle of it all. A totally immersive experience, you should excuse the pun. This is one tough moovie. "U-571" doesn't get too patriotic and doesn't wave many flags.
This isn't what I'd call a "date moovie" by any means, but it is an absolutely amazing ride, and worth the trip, whether you think you like war moovies or not.
If I could just figure out how to get them through the hatch and below decks, I'd give "U-571" four cows.
