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In 1941 the United States was not yet in the war with the Germans but that does
not seem to stop Hollywood producers from indulging in revisionist history. At the
end of the movie the producers credit the valiant efforts of the many Allied ships
who helped the Americans attain the ENIGMA CODING DEVICE.
Actually if memory serves correctly it was a Canadian Navy ship, HMS BULLDOG
who actually attained the first device from the Germans, in 1941. Station X which
was based in England did most of the decoding of the German code. So really the
Americans had very little if anything to do with it. But, hey, it makes for a good
tension filled story.
The movie opens in 1942 with a German submarine which has been damaged by
an Allied destroyer. The Americans find out about it and the fact that it has an
ENIGMA DECODER on board. They mount a deception to get aboard the enemy craft.
Lt. Commander Mike Dahlgren (Bill Paxton) is put in charge of a vintage WW1
submarine which is to go out and fool the crippled German submarine, board it and
capture the decoder. His team consists of his executive officer,
Lt. Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey), Lt. Pete Emmett (Jon Bon Jovi),
Ensign Larson (Matthew Settle), Chief Klough (Harvey Keitel), radioman
(German Translator) Wentz (Jack Noseworthy), the cook Eddie (T.C. Carson), Trigger
(Thomas Guiry), Mazzola (Erik Palladino), Tank (Dave Power),
Griggs (Derk Cheetwood) and Rabbit (Will Estes). The group is under
the charge of Lt. Hirsch (Jake Weber) and Marine Major Coonan
(David Keith).
The submarine has been converted to resemble a German U-Boat for a Trojan Horse
gambit. Possing as Germans they approach the wounded submarine and after a
skirmish, they board the craft and take possession of the Enigma device. Unfortunately
they are ambushed by an Allied sub that torpedoes the American Submarine leaving
them stranded in the German submarine.
Once on board they realize they must escape the approaching destroyer. Unfortunately
everything is in German and they must rely on the only two German speaking men on
board, Wentz and Lt. Hirsch. From this point on the action becomes fast and furious as
the team try to survive a trip to Europe through dangerous waters. Lt. Andrew Tyler now
been thrust in the position of captain with the lives of all these men in his hands. With the
help of Chief Klough he quickly learns what must be done to survive the upcoming
challenges. He has to learn not to show indecision; to handle dissident crew members and
worst of all he must learn to decide who lives and who dies. His strength of decisions will
decide their survival. There are lots of tense moments in this movie supplied mostly by their
run ins with depth charges and enemy destroyers. One could only imagine
how men could handle being trapped in an oversized tin can while somebody is trying to
pop you open under deep water. Brrrrrrr!!!!
U-571 may not be as good as DAS BOOT but it still supplies plenty of action
and suspense. Acting is well done as is the photography. Overall this movie is well
worth the money and the time spent. Enjoy.
PS: One thing that I need to state...NEVER..NEVER...would I, ever want to
serve in a submarine. Anyone who goes down in those things has all my respect.
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