U-571 Review

U-571 came out in 2000 so it is a bit dated for a World War 2 movie.  I have not seen too many movies about submarine warfare other than Crimson Tide and The Hunt for Red October and both I have enjoyed.  This movie stars Bill Paxton, Jon Bon Jovi, and Matthew McConaughey so it has some heavy star power.  It is the fictional story of an American submarine who captures a German sub with a special decoding device. Since the mission was secretive they had to make the most of the situation and survive in the German submarine until they could escape safely.   The star of this movie is Matthew McConaughey and he really shines in his role as the submarine captain of his American crew.  The other stars who played the crew members also did really well as supporting roles.

One part of this movie I'm not sure I agree with.  During the movie, Matthew McConaughey admits to his crew he is not sure what the next move is.  He admits he is confused.  Later on one of his crew members has a candid talk with him and recommends he never shares that he doesn't know the next step to the whole crew because it would kill some of the morale of the crew.  I saw the point of the discussion,  yet I don't know if I agree.  Soldiers don't want to blindly follow orders.  Although it may not have been the best time to share that McConaughey's character didn't know the next step - I don't think it was terrible that he chose transparency with his men over acting like he knew everything.  I think any crew would rather you level with them honestly to making up things and pretending you know it all.  I've never served in the service, but I think having the honesty and transparency to admit you're unsure of the next step would help your men recognize your humility and humanity rather than acting like you ALWAYS know the next step as a commanding officer.  Just my perspective on the movie discussion.

The music in this movie is very well written.  The acting is top-notch.  If you like Jon Bon Jovi you may not want to watch this movie purely for his role in this movie.   If you have ever watched the movie Executive Decision with Steven Seagal you will understand when I say that if you watched Executive Decision for Mr. Seagal you will feel the same way about watching U-571 for Jon Bon Jovi's role.  He did a great job for the time he was in it.

I guess my only beef with this movie is that it is historical fiction.  It seems that war movies are more powerful when they are at least based on a true story.  U-571 doesn't even claim that.   It is a great war movie with fast moving action, a rousing soundtrack, and great acting and special effects.  However at the end of the day you just realize that it was a made-up war story with great acting.  I'm still giving it 2 thumbs up due to the shortage of good war movies being made.  A noble effort from all parties involved, and a great engaging story-line to follow.