U-571

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.

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.

I saw U-571 last Friday.

I loved every second of it. Throughout the movie, I don't know who's knuckles were whiter; mine clutching the theatre seat, or the actors who grabbed whatever they could while being depth-charged.

This movie was pure non-stop action, from beginning to end. You are there, really there, experiencing the gripping fear of submarine warfare.

I believe that was the intention of the movie and if so, accomplished that superbly. I think the acting, camera work, and sound was excellent.

Now, regarding other issues.

The movie is NOT historical; it is fictional. It is based (loosely) on history (history being that there once were German and Allied submarines that fought in a war known as World War II, and that there was a German code machine the Allies called the "enigma").

Not only is it not historical regarding the event (the capturing of U-571 and the enigma code machine by Americans) but in many other areas such as what submarines of that era and their weapons could and could not do (such as dogfighting underwater with torpedo's).

Don't look for character development either. There isn't much. It's more like the first 1/2 hour of "Saving Private Ryan" (the landing on the beach episode ) throughout the length of the movie.

Thankfully, in my opinion of what a "war" movie should be, it was not muddled up with "love" scenes or anything stupid and mushy like most are. And also, thankfully, there wasn't "angel music" playing all the time. The second "trailer" was misleading in that it showed a ball-room dance, leading the viewer to believe there was some "love" interests, and played angel music, of which there was neither in the movie. It was just man-to-man combat and basic survival.

I hope everyone who sees it will enjoy it for what it is and not concentrate on, or blame it for what it isn't.

Enough analyzing -- Go see it! I suggest choosing a modern theatre with a big-screen and digital sound system.

Salut!

JG2"FireCat!

This is a good submarine movie, and I think I've seen them all. In fact, British sailors recovered the Enigma machine, not Americans; otherwise this movie is pretty accurate. Crew interaction rings true, and boat operations are realistic - except those periscope seals leak profusely enough to warrant immediate repair.