U-571

One of the really irritating things about Hollywierd-history movies is that so many idiots believe it's true.  As far as I can tell, this movie is particularly light on facts.  I think Scoo summed it up pretty well:

In the sprit of baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and whatever else was in that song before Chevy wrecked it, we're going to go watch some Americans kick the schnitzel out of a bunch of German submawieners!!

It's American movie making at it's best. U-571, based on the true story of the W.W.II-era British heroics that allowed the Allied forces to break top-secret Nazi codes, dramatically changing the course of the war. This version just adds some submarines, smartly leaves the Brits out all together and gives credit where credit is due- To the Americans!!

If you liked Top Gun Underwater I: The Hunt for Red October, You'll Love Top Gun Underwater II: U-571!

The movie tried to throw in some of the same moral dilemmas as Crimson Tide.  Is the Executive Officer ready to hold command and make the tough calls?  But U-571 was incredibly heavy-handed about it.

Then there's the underwater battle scene.  The makers of this movie certainly didn't care about the real capabilities of the weapons and sensors of the time.  And it wasn't even really a decent plot device.  Maybe they showed McConaughey's character was a decent tactician, though once again it was remarkably heavy-handed.   It was mostly just an excuse to throw in a few minutes of special effects.

Not horrible, but silly.  Falls between The Hunt for Red October and Crimson Tide.   On my brother's Total Movie Value Scale, Pay Per View.

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