What really stands out about U-571 is the environment, the aura, created aboard a WW-II U-Boat (I hate that word...submarine is much better). We get the feeling of something that takes a lot of effort to maneuver, control, and hold together. What was even more interesting in this film is that for much of the film the starring crew must navigate in a beat-up German U-Boat which is very unfamiliar (all but two of them cannot even read nor interpret the German labels).
We are taken back to WW-II in the Atlantic Ocean, a place where Hitler's Nazi U-Boats are wreaking havoc on anything audacious enough to venture out to sea. One of these U-Boats (can you guess which one?) is caught and disabled. A race is then underway for an American crew to reach this submarine, kidnap her, and secretly recover the Nazi's encryping typewriter...the Enigma machine. With the Enigma machine in Allied hands, a turning point in the long-lasting war would be possible.
The setting and basic plot of the movie are wonderful. The effects and environment created on screen are captivating. However, what begins to sink this movie (yes, another great pun) is the attempt at character development. I guess the writers felt like they should put something in here, but they sure didn't give it much thought. In the end, it winds up making the film much too predictable. For instance (DO NOT READ THE BULLETS IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FILM):
- you knew that the captain would die and that Lt. Tyler (McConaughey) would take over
- you knew that Lt. Tyler would send a man to his death
- you knew that they guy who went to fix the leak underwater would drown
- you knew that the Nazi U-Boat captain would keep messing things up until he was killed
Intensifying the bad story (wherever character interaction was involved...not the story in general) was bad acting. Matthew McConaughey was not very convincing, and was not someone with whom we could really identify with, even though that was the intention. A completely unnoticable, and thus forgettable, performace was turned in by none other than Jon Bon Jovi. I didn't even know that he was in the movie until later. And when I found out who he was, I couldn't even remember his character.
But back to the good stuff. This movie was simply excellent at creating suspense and excitement within a quite unique environment. My favorite part? It was the entire sequence when the Americans stormed through the Nazi U-Boat, taking it over by force with guns. It built up slowly from a quite raft trip through the rain (see below) to a danger-at-every-turn raid through the narrow passageways of an unfamiliar and hostile submarine.
I also loved experiencing the depth charges. This is what really gives the movie its flavor and uniqueness (there have been other sub movies before, but never have I really seen boat vs. sub). Depth charges, in case you do not know, are basically barreled-bombs dropped into the water from a surface boat, set to discharge at a given depth below the surface, with the intention to destroy a lurking U-Boat. And in the opening sentence of this paragraph, I said that I loved experiencing the depth charges. The sound effects were paramount in this, because the primary sense available to those aboard a sub is that of sound. Experiencing this in the theater is simply the only way to see this film. Don't wait to rent it.
As for the visual effects, I was somewhat dissapointed. Especially in the opening scene where a Nazi U-Boat destroys an Allied cargo boat. It looked like someone took a bic lighter and set fire to a model boat in their bathtub. Another complaint that I have with the visual effects is the superfluous amount of camera shaking whenever a sub was hit. It almost made me sick. It also made me think, "Hey, when these guys were filming this, they really shook the hell out of that camera to give the illusion of the sub being struck." Thus, I was taken away from where I sould have been...inside the sub.
And now back to an intersting aspect that is present in almost any war movie. The enemy whose life is spared out of mercy will always come back to haunt you. Case in point, U-571, Saving Private Ryan, Rules of Engagement, etc. What is Hollywood teaching us (as if we will all be placed in combat situations)?
You should always kill your enemy...immediately and mercilessly, when you have the chance.
And how about this interesing issue posed by the movie: an American soldier who is half-German begs his XO not to tell the other guys about this, because they would hate him. That really takes us back to a different time now, doesn't it? Why, today people are proud of their German heritage. Pretty interesting, huh?
One more for you: The fact that this story revolved around the particular Nazi U-Boat, U-571, implies correctly that there were tens of hundreds (in the thousands) of these U-Boats. One particular scene of the movie gives a glimpse as to the resources and manpower required to build and maintain just one of them. The fact that Germany had so many really demonstrates the productive capabilities and time invested by this country leading up to the war. In fact, if I recall a bit of my high-school history, Hitler spent a great deal of time and resources stocking up on supplies and weapons of war, knowing all along that his master plan was to take over the world. What is worse is that everyone pretty much knew this, but refused to step in and stop him early, before he could do any damage. Why did they do this? Because the memory of WWI a generation ago was all to fresh in their minds. There was much reluctance to sacrifice more men, along with a somewhat blind hope that it would just go away.
Historically, however, this movie has one major flaw. Every one of the missions in which this movie is based on were performed by the British, not the Americans.
A little history, a lot of suspense, and a great experience outweigh the lack of a story and bad acting. Even so, it just doesn't stand up to other sub movies such as The Hunt for Red October or my favorite, Crimson Tide.
Back