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It is interesting to observe the defensive British reaction
to this movie. "Damn Americans trying to steal the glory
again". True, it was Royal Navy missions that secured the
German Enigma code in World War II not the Americans. However,
if we were to ban all war movies that did not portray events
factually, I suspect that there would be few, if any, left to
watch. The fact is, that a mission to steal a secret code machine
is great plot theme upon which to base an (American) action
movie and at the end of the film, acknowledgement is given to
the (British) heroes who were involved in the real life events.
Fomer pin up boy turned bongo player Matthew McConaughey plays
submarine lieutenant Tyler who has just been denied command
of his own submarine as he is not yet ready for the responsibility.
If Tyler knew anything about movies, he would be pleased, because
this is obviously a setup that is surely going to result in
him being put in a situation where he will be able to prove
beyond doubt that he is ready. This situation arises when his
captain (Bill Paxton) and his submarine are blown up while Tyler
and his men are busy raiding a German U-boat looking for an
Enigma code machine. The core of this movie is then: how do
you pilot a crippled German submarine back to safety without
having both the Germans and the Allies trying to send you to
the bottom of the ocean?
The basic elements of this movie are just that - basic. They
are the standards that have been used in wartime action and
suspense movies for years. Director Jonathan Mostow plays these
elements pretty well, creating a claustrophobic tension even
though you know very well that they are going to succeed somehow.
In many ways this movie is so familiar it could have set in
space and called Star Trek. There is a captain who barks orders
at everybody, crew who repeat those orders to make sure they
heard them properly, an enemy that can't shoot straight enough
to cause anything more than incidental damage, an engine room
that is not working properly and relies on the skills of the
engineer to get the ship as much speed as possible, all set
in a hostile environment that will cause instant death to all
on board of the hull is ever breached.
It's derivative but its good. The cast do a good job, from
McConaughey to Harvey Keitel (as the Chief, a very Keitel-ish
character) to Jon Bon Jovi in his most significant acting role
to date. The effects are pretty cool as well bringing the audience
a sense of the submarine world where you can see nothing and
have to rely on sound to provide your picture of the outside
world.
Overall, good old fashioned action fun. And if you really can't
avoid getting hung up on the historical inaccuracies of the
whole thing, just pretend it's all set in the year 2541 instead
of 1941.
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