Let me introduce you to the worst movie I have seen this year: “U-571”. It could have been the worst movie I’ve seen in the last two years, but it is beaten by a hair by the unforgettable “Charlie’s Angels”.
The plot ====== During the second world war the crew of an American submarine is sent on a secret mission: they have to try to lay their hands upon the famous “Enigma machine” that is on board of a disabled German submarine (the U-571) waiting for help. The Germans used the Enigma to encode their messages. It had the looks of an ordinary typewriter, but it produced a code that was supposed to be unbreakable. Therefore, the capture of the Enigma was considered essential for the victory of the allied forces.
The crew of the American submarine is led by Captain Mike Dahlgren (Bill Paxton) and his Lieutenant Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey). Their submarine is disguised as a German one so they would be able to approach the U-571 without arousing suspicion. They manage to locate the U-571 and even to capture it. But while Lt. Tyler and his special commando are waiting on the conquered U-571, another U-boat sinks their own submarine and almost the entire crew dies. Lt. Tyler, who’s in charge now
after the death of Capt. Dahlgren, has to try to get the Enigma back, with his limited team and in a submarine they barely know.
The critics ========
From an artistic point of view ----------------------------------- What could have been very exciting turned out be extremely boring. Everything is so predictable, that it’s hard to watch it till the end. Personally, I gave up 20 minutes before the end, because I felt I knew how it was going to end and it bored me to death. The next day I watched the last 20 minutes, and indeed, everything was just the way I thought it would be. I’m not going to spoil the plot any further, but expect all the usual Hollywood-clichés.
The performances of the actors are mediocre, especially of Matthew McConaughey. He is the main character (Lt. Tyler) of the movie, but he fails convince. He was supposed to play the typical role of the man who, due to circumstances, gets in charge and has to proof he has the skills of a real captain. In other words, the process of becoming a man you see in so many other movies. However, his performance is so bad he still gives the same weak impression at the end of the movie as in the beginning. The other actors aren’t much better, but they are handicapped by a weak script. It provides almost no background for any of the players, except for Lt. McConaughey. The only actor who stood above all this mediocrity was Harvey Keitel, playing Chief Klough, a veteran who knows the sea like the back of his hand. Harvey Keitel’s reputation is of course indisputable, but how on earth did he end up in this flop?
Onto a positive point of the movie: the scenery, the sound effects and the special effects. They are really superb: the submarines look beautiful and very realistic, especially on the inside. If you love boats, and submarines in particular, you will love to see how the scenery inside the submarine is worked out in detail. On top of that the sound editing has been rewarded with an Oscar, which it has certainly not stolen. But of course, if you watch a Hollywood movie, you know the scenery and the special effects are going to be good, that’s what they’re good at. (Or you could say they have the budget to realize it.)
Finally, a last word of critic about the soundtrack. It’s too bombastic, too cliché. Seeing the submarine leave the port under heavy, bombastic and triumphant music was just too much.
From a German point of view ------------------------------------ “U-571” gives a black/white view of the war: the Americans are good, the Germans are bad, and this without any nuancing. On the contrary, it even worsens the existing stereotypes. In the beginning of the movie for example the original German crew of the U-571 massacres an entire cutter of helpless refugees searching for help. The Americans on the other hand, save the only surviving member of the U-571! I will not spoil the rest, but I can assure you that this black/white view only got worse towards the end of the movie. This movie was so extremely patriotic and anti-German it disgusted me. If it had been made 60 years ago I’d say it’s pure war propaganda.
From a historical and realistic point of view ----------------------------------------------------- You probably heard “U-571” got a lot of critic from historians, and you probably think “What the hell, it’s only a movie”. That’s a bit what I thought too, but when you see the movie you realize these “inaccuracies” are rather big. These are some mistakes I saw myself, and I found them really disturbing:
- When the American commando has to operate the “U-571” because their own submarine has been destroyed, they manage to operate it just by translating the labels on the machinery. Give me a break… - At a certain a point the American crew of the U-571 manages to sink a destroyer with one single torpedo. I could have lived with that, if it wasn’t that the destroyer entirely exploded, disintegrated, and immediately sunk!
During my little research, these and other mistakes were confirmed. There were also some “inaccuracies” I didn’t notice:
- To operate a submarine a crew of over 40 men was needed. In the movie, just ten Americans manage to operate it, and even to win sea battles. - During combats, fuel-sprayed crewmen burst into flames… although diesel isn’t really that flammable. - Finally, a critic that will please all of you: it’s not the Americans who successfully laid their hands on the Enigma and cracked the code, … but the British! But of course not a single yank will realize this…
There a lot more mistakes, but I think I’ve showed here that they were big enough to spoil parts of the film.
Conclusion ======== This is the kind of movie that belongs to the bottom of the sea. The only thing that’s worth something is the scenery and the special effects. The rest is just post-war propaganda without a soul. Hollywood did it again.
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Glad Im not the only one who found this to be a plie of Kack! They should of had a subtitle at the start saying "This film is totally fictional and has not bases in fact whatsoever apart from there being Nationalities called 'Germans' and 'Americans'"! Its this kind of film that still fuels racist remarks made to Germans. Kind of sickening really. Good op.
mattwood 10.03.2003 14:16
Good op - I'm put through this ordeal of a film pretty much monthly by my father, who absolutely loves it :( Matt
mike081179 05.02.2003 13:34
I enjoyed this film, but I have heard that some parts in it were unrealistic. Good op. - Mike
If you've never seen a submarine drama before, thenU-571will probably make a good ... more
impression as a tautly choreographed piece of entertainment. A strong cast led by Matthew McConaughey's sympathetic Lt. Tyler undertakes a perilous mission to seize a Ger...
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If you've never seen a submarine drama before, thenU-571will probably make a good ... more
impression as a tautly choreographed piece of entertainment. A strong cast led by Matthew McConaughey's sympathetic Lt. Tyler undertakes a perilous mission to seize a Ger...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
From the creators of the hit thriller 'Breakdown', comes Canal+ and Universal Pictures' ... more
U-571. A white-knuckle World War II suspense drama, about an American submarine crew as they battle against time, danger and their own fears. Their mission: a darin...
If you've never seen a submarine drama before, thenU-571will probably make a good ... more
impression as a tautly choreographed piece of entertainment. A strong cast led by Matthew McConaughey's sympathetic Lt. Tyler undertakes a perilous mission to seize a Ger...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
![U-571 [DVD] [2000]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78522839.jpg "U-571 [DVD] [2000]")
![U-571 [DVD] [2000] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/69887853.jpg "U-571 [DVD] [2000] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]")
Aug 19th, 2001
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