o.tacke

(2013-05-24 18:47:27)

What a distortion of the truth

This is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Just one example: Men thathave never been fighting before (as they said) are able to shot peopleprecisely on a long distance, ... Alright. Most action movies exaggeratethose things - and heroes mostly don't die - but there's one thing that Iabsolutely didn't like: the distortion of the truth as the British capturedthe Enigma but not the Americans.

Draco-10

(2013-05-23 21:07:31)

So good it was too good

U-571, an incredible action flick from the creator of Breakdown, makes allof the right choices. I know that both the human story and historicalaccuracy seem to leave something to be desired, but neither of thosefactorsseem relevant when the audience is bombarded by smashing submarine action.Each series of bombs and each tense moment is a nail-biter. The movie'sbiggest flaw is that U-571 can't find a way to top its previous actionssequences for a grand finale. This leads to a bit of dissatisfaction attheend, but the 90 minutes leading up to it is good as gold.B+/A-

(2013-05-23 16:22:56)

Entertaining but biased.

I think a European's opinion is needed here. While the film is rather entertaining, it's a complete piece of Hollywood fantasy and is selling Americans as doing things they never did! The British actually got hold of the device by the way! I have no problem with Hollywood indulging in fantasies. But younger audiences are going to believe films like this as being "fact" and THAT'S really sad!

(2013-05-23 04:52:10)

U-571 review

I thought U-571 was fantastic. It was exciting from start to finish. I feel this film was meant more for entertainment than a history lesson. It had suspence, trajody, and excitement. It keeps you on the edge of your seat through the whole movie. Lets face it we always want the Americans to win. If you want to be entertained then see this movie. This movie shows that you can't rely on just knowing what to do. You have to have the guts to do it.

(2013-05-22 04:05:50)

Inaccurate but a fun film

The director walks a tightrope on the historical accuracy of this film that could only be called confusing and ultimately a black mark on this movie. Otherwise U-571 was an enjoyable submarine movie with merits of its own that would have been better served by a different plotline that didnt confuse the history of the enigma.

Seth Barnhill

(2013-05-21 22:38:43)

Very intense movie, gripping from beginning to end.

Great movie! I did not really think that it would be a great movie, butitwas. Very intense from beginning to end. It literally had me on the edgeof my seat. A couple of problems with the story, some parts of the moviethat I thought were unnecessary and could have been cut out. Other thanthat however, the movie was terrific.

(2013-05-20 10:11:24)

Not Nearly As Bad As Reviews Suggest

This review is from: U-571 (Collector's Edition) (DVD) For a person who is not crazy about Matt McConaughey's acting ability, I actually thought this was a pretty good movie. The English reviewers are correct that the Brits/Polish actually found the "enigma" machine first, but the end credits show that on a third mission, Americans also came up with a piece of the puzzle. So yes the film took some liberalities when devising the mission and its importance for America's wartime efforts. They probably should have portrayed a British sub, but marketing concerns most likely nixed this approach. Historical inaccuracies aside, the film was suspenseful, intelligent and entertaining. The special effects made everything seem pretty realistic and didn't detract from the film. Maybe Kietel seemed miscast for his part, but younger people often have higher ranking than their elders, especially if they went to Annapolis. Overall a good film.

(2013-05-19 14:09:52)

One of the best movies I've ever seen!!!!!

"U-571" is a spectacular movie about WWII submariners with a plan to board a German ship in order to seize and obtain a German decoder called the Enigma. As difficult as it might sound, this is actually the easiest thing that the Allies will do the entire movie. Their naval submarine gets blown up after they board the German ship, so they're left having to take the German ship and use it as their own. Lieutenant Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey) is wanting very badly to become the captain of a naval submarine, but the one that is captain at the time (Bill Paxton) tells him that he doesn't think that he's ready to become a captain yet because he holds too much back and is too concerned with the life of a few men when the life of all his crew might be at stake. But there's not enough time to argue over whether he's fit enough to be a real captain or not because this is a major war that they're involved in.I can't say enough good things about how great of a movie "U-571" is. It has some great acting, especially by Matthew McConaughey and Harvey Keitel. It also has some spectacular special effects with all the explosions and underwater war sequences. I've seen a lot of great suspense movies, and now I can add "U-571" to that list. I was on the edge of my seat when the real war began and I was so interested and captivated by the movie's suspense and its effects that I literally had to force myself to blink, and I'm not exaggerating at all in the least sense.I recommend anybody who likes war, action, or suspense movies to get "U-571" before you get any other movie on the shelf. In my opinion, it puts other great submarine movies such as "The Hunt For Red October" and "Crimson Tide" to shame. If you just buy one movie this year, I would recommend buying "U-571."

jle130

(2013-05-18 21:09:29)

Technically a piece of crap

I guess I found the movie semi-entertaining. But having served 9 years inthe U.S. Navy and having studied military history. The movie got almosteverything technically and historically wrong. At least they did mentionthereal heroes who captured the Enigma machines during the war (about theonlything done right in the entire film).Joe

siderite

(2013-05-18 09:04:46)

Hollywood all the way. And what was Jon Bon Jovi doing in this movie anyway?

Cool US marines try to capture that elusive Enigma machine that doesthe decoding of radio messages, while stupid Germans are tricked againand again and again. The only good thing Germans do is build u-boats,and it comes in handy when a few of the Us get stranded on a damagedenemy sub and need to get the captured machine back into Allied hands.Well, I might exaggerate a little. This is clearly not such a puerilemovie like the ones they did right after the war. I mean, there is aGerman prisoner that does all kind of bad things while trying toescape, thus giving credit to the Nazi navy, there are tough decisionsthat the skipper has to take, but overall the Americans are the goodguys and the Germans are mindless killing drones.While reading the other user comments I realized that the movie isn'teven accurate, so the only good thing about it remains the acting (comeon, it wasn't bad) and the production. An enigma (pun intended) for meis why did Bon Jovi accept to play in this movie. He has shown he hasactor qualities, he is a known public figure, what the hell did hethink when he accepted a part with a sentence or two and a stupid deathright at the start?Conclusion: you want to know how people felt inside u-boats, read booksor at least watch documentaries. You want a quick cheap fun movie,watch this.

John Downes

(2013-05-18 00:04:19)

Fairly entertaining action movie

Well I enjoyed this film. The plot line is absurd, but so what? So wasWhere Eagles Dare, The Dirty Dozen, Inglorious Basterds and manyothers.No, it's a bit of all-action hokum set in a submarine. It doesn'tcompare well with Morning Departure, Above Us the Waves, We Dive atDawn, and certainly not with the daddy of them all, Das Boot, but it'sentertaining enough.And to those fellow Brits who take umbrage at the notion that Hollywoodis claiming that the US Navy did stuff that they didn't, well I saylighten up. It's just a movie, it's not pretending to be history, it'sa story. My suggestion... save up your money and commission a film thatshows the British SAS taking Iwo Jima, HMS Ark Royal winning the Battleof Midway and the Japanese surrender taking place on HMS King George V,after the dropping of The Bomb out of a Lancaster flown out of Burmah.Now THAT I'd like to see!

Aaron1375

(2013-05-17 11:38:41)

It was an action movie, not a historic recount so for what it was I enjoyed it.

A lot of movies use historical events such as wars or tragedies asbackdrops for their movies. "Titanic" for instance was completelyuntrue for the most part. This movie for some reason had lots of peoplecomplaining about how Americans were not the first to find the decoderdepicted in the film. So what? Really, some people are just so anal. IfEngland wishes for the true story to be told make a documentary on thesubject with their money. This is an action movie made with Americandollars, this is not to be confused with fact, seriously did you lookup the Titanic's manifest and see if that poor Jack or his love Rosewas on it. The decoder was just a way to get some guys on a GermanU-boat so we could have a pretty good action movie. It was nothing toponder or for historians to dissect, I mean did we believe that ForrestGump was real too and that he was a very important person in AmericanHistory too or what? The main problem I had with this one is thatMatthew McConaughey is the lead in this one. I think someone else wouldhave been better, though he was not to bad in this one. Just when I seehim I usually think chick flick, though I did like him in "Sahara" too.So a nice action movie, with some good submarine battles, I preferred"The Hunt Red October" and I have heard the German film "Das Boot" isthe superior submarine film of all of them, but have never seen thatone. Would like to though, until then though I enjoyed this one and Irealize the English were the first to find said decoder.

(2013-05-17 06:05:24)

Wow how unbeliveable can you make a film???

This film set out to make us pick sides, by using music, clothing, plot, and other tactics to pursuide us that the Americans are the "good guys" and the that the Germans are the evil enemys that have to be concured for the hope of man kind.This film trys to make you feel that the clean cut Americans have to capture the enigma machine so that the world will be saved. They try to personalise it by seeing that the Luitenent fails to become a captain and that all the crew love him.This film trys to makes the Germans out to be filthy and brutal by killig the survivers of the submarine which the blew up. The also made the Germans look bad by when the Americans let the Captain live, how he escapes and sabortages the sub.Even the History is wrong, because it was the Britz that actually captured most of the enigmas and who also cracked the code not the "brave" Americans.Over all this film decives ytou to make you believe that you should be baraking for the Americans 10 mins into the movie. it is a very crewl and deceptive film. I can not belive that such a lie was even let out on film let alone of Vidio and DVD.P.S. I recomend to not watch this if you have not seen this before!!!

jennifer-99

(2013-05-16 21:08:56)

Shocking....

...shocking that I actually enjoyed this film. With as much as I avoided itwhile playing in the theatres, and in spite of my loud protests in the localBlockbuster Video, we rented it, and to my surprise I enjoyed it. I have heard the complaints that it is not in the same league as Petersen'sDas Boot, which I have not seen. I have also heard that it is totallyhistorically inaccurate, which I cannot verify as I do not know any of thehistory behind this movie. So taking it purely as an action/thriller movie,it is surprisingly entertaining. Granted, the characters were poorly developed and the plot line wasrelatively thin, but director Mostow should be commended for crafting anengaging picture despite these weaknesses. The film is made in such a waythat what should have been a glaring inadequacy, is really just a minorcomplaint. For those who are fans of the genre and who are history buffs, you will findlots to complain about, as my viewing partner did. For those of you who just want 2 hours of action and entertainment, enjoythe ride.

(2013-05-16 10:15:55)

Good WWII Fiction

I have followed Submarine movies since my childhood. I was always fascinated with what it would be like to be aboard one. I even went inside a German U-boat at a museum. I have been aboard ships, which although not as cramped they still give you a bit of the feel of what a sailors life is like. I have seen great sub movies like "Das Boot" and "The Enemy Below". Fans of the movie "Breakdown" will find that the same author/director did a fine job on this fictional submarine movie as well. U-571 is not meant to be a historically accurate telling of the Enigma story. It was meant to be entertaining fiction and nothing more. In that respect it is pretty good, in fact borderline great. It has plenty of tense moments and a fast pace to keep the interest of most fans of WWII movies. Like many war movies it is not the exact truth of what really happened, but it is dedicated in honor of Allied sailors. The Allied forces wanted to get their hands on an Enigma device during the war. It saddens me that so many vote negative, not because they think badly of our reviews so much as they don't like us enjoying a movie about Americans winning in a fictional WWII story. Is this jealousy voting?The true story is the British ships HMS Bulldog and HMS Aubretia captured an enigma device from a German U-Boat, U-110, on May 9, 1941. The German sub failed to sink because in their rush to abandon ship they forgot to blow the tanks. The British went aboard and found the Enigma and coding documents. Even then the Brits had to work hard at the code for some time since the Germans wised up to so many of their subs being sunk. The Germans added a another wheel to the Enigma device making the code far more complex with more possible variations. The British at Bletcheley Park again worked around the clock. They even came up with the first computer and successfully cracked the code. Be sure to catch the movie "Enigma" if this interests you. U-571 pays tribute to the Allied forces that risked their lives to capture Enigma devices and documents. There never was a mission like this movie indicates during WWII and especially not with any Americans involved. I still like this movie as entertainment, and I appreciate it being dedicated to Allied sailors. People that enjoy the vast majority of WWII movies will probably find this movie worthwhile, and I would even venture to say that it has replayability. If you want a movie that gives you more of the facts, catch Enigma, but realize they took a little poetic license in it as well. I bought the DVD and the picture and sound quality is good.

(2013-05-16 08:21:18)

AMAZING

This movie is the best I ever seen in this type. The action is incredible. The sound effect is impressive. There's suspense from the beginning to the end. The performers are really professional. It's a GOOD MOVIE. I LOVE IT.

Boba_Fett1138

(2013-05-14 17:47:59)

Much better then you expect it to be!

At first I was skeptic about this movie like everyone else, I mean asubmarine action movie ??? Comon! But the movie actually turned out tobe pretty good!It's always risky to make a submarine movie, it's very soon consideredto be a "Das Boot" rip-off. And of course "U-571" is a "Das Boot"rip-off but it's a fun rip-off! The movie uses several elements from"Das Boot", even the beginning is a bit similar but still it's uniqueenough to be considered a good movie.It was surprising to see that it actually really was a well actionpacked movie. From a submarine movie you normally just don't expectthis many action. You could really already see back then that JonathanMostow really is a great action movie director that has proved himselfrecently with "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines". It actually ispretty amazing to see how close "U-571" comes to creating a "Das Boot"like atmosphere.Of course the story is totally silly and unbelievable but should thatimmediately mean that it's a bad movie? The movie serves it's purposeand that's to entertain the viewer.The cast is fairly good but don't be tricked, Bill Paxton's role isactually very small and just a few minutes long. Matthew McConaughey isa great leading man and it's always a pleasure to see Harvey Keitel ina movie.Give it a shot, you might like it.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

krumski

(2013-05-14 08:02:39)

World War II Sub movie gets the facts wrong - but everything else right.

Saw this movie in the theatres over the summer. Enjoyed it, but prettymuchpromptly forgot about it. I saw it again recently on video and, alreadyknowing the story and the outcome, I was free to pay more attention to thetechnique. And my verdict is this: U-571 is one of the most finely craftedpopcorn movies of the past several years. One of the things which hasbecomemost regrettable about the Big Hollywood Summer Movies is their relentlesspace: everything is in your face, it's all whiz-banging by you a millionmiles a second, with the (increasingly hokey looking) CGI special effectshogging just about every frame of the screen. Hollywood action directorshave lost touch with how to pace a film for maximum impact: that theremustbe peaks and valleys, moments of calm and white-knuckle tension in orderforthe explosions to pack the wallop they should. U-571 gets it just aboutallright. It is a very satisfying viewing experience; nothing to rewrite thebook on film, certainly, and nothing you will carry with you for the restofyour days - but a solid, intelligent entertainment that won't leave youfeeling like you've just been raped by Industrial Light andMagic.The setup is solid and well thought out; it gets the film rolling at agoodclip (I won't bore you with details of the plot here - you can read theIMDbsummary for that). There's a no-nonsense quality to it all, right from theget-go: the filmmakers are not interested in any romantic subplots (thereare no women in the movie), inter-crew rivalries or joshing, puffed- upbackstories (no "proving something to his father" or "avenging the deathofhis best friend" type character profiles) and least of all no gratuitouslyoverlong "money shots" showing off the hardware and special effects. Tosometastes, this might make the movie a bit too dry and faceless, and I'll bethe first to admit that I wouldn't want every movie to be done in thisway.But it's appropriate to the subject at hand: in such a scenario, thetask -the mission - is what is most important (not whether or not Ben AffleckandLiv Tyler - or Mark Wahlberg and Diane Lane - are together at the end ofthemovie) and it's refreshing to see a big Hollywood actioner get that right.It reminded me of the classic war movies of the past, like Guns ofNavarone,or Where Eagles Dare: Ok, we've got a job to do and we're going to do it -that's what we're here for (*all* we're here for) and that's what theaudience really wants to see. So let's get to it!Furthermore, making all (rather than just some) of the story take place onthe submarine was very brave. It's the tightest, most claustrophobic placeimaginable, and it does not allow for the type of cathartic, big actionpayoffs that other films can provide (aerial dogfights, car chases,kung-fublowouts, etc.). There's a muted, constricted feeling to even the goodguys'victories here that does not allow for a satisfying "Hooray!" from theaudience - just a pattern of high tension, slight release, then backagain,all leading to a surprisingly muted finale which, in its own way, is asclear-eyed about battle and as respectful of the men who fought it as wasSaving Private Ryan (though, of course, much less pointed aboutit).Some might question how I can actually use a word like "respectful" inrelation to this movie, since - as has been widely noted - the exploits ofthe American crew here are wildly fictionalised, and that the true heroesinacquiring the Enigma machines from German subs were the British. Well,I'llagree: this is Hollywood revisionism at its worst. But you know what? It'sacracking good tale, done with care and respect (it even lists, at the end,all the different missions - British and American both - that wereresponsible for successfully confiscating Enigmas). The film's concern isnot with presenting historical "truth" but with using the backdrop ofhistory as an entryway onto a tautly constructed cinematic thrill ride. Ifsuch an endeavor strikes you as offensive and opportunistic - well, Ican'treally argue with you. But if you can get past it, and are only interestedin a solid, well crafted, well thought out movie. . . gentlemen, I giveyouU-571.

marquis2100

(2013-05-13 11:18:17)

Offensive & revisionist, it should not have been made.

I have only one comment about the movie and it isn't about its suspense,direction, acting or musical score. It's about deceit. Reading throughuser comments, I see that many are in touch with the idea that this is aBritish story, not American. But do they grasp how much more ignorancethisis fostering?People are saying that the supply lines between America and Britain werebeing threatened by the U-Boats and that America had to come to therescue.This folks, is simply untrue, revisionist garbage. And people are buyingit.It offends me, because as a Canadian, I am painfully aware of the factthatAmerica risked nothing at all to supply Britain in its hour of need - thatwas Canada's great claim to fame, and America's claim to shame. TheBritishcaptured the enigma first, the Canadians caught another later and the U.S.WASN'T EVEN IN THE WAR YET!This is beyond "just entertainment" as Americans are now layingquasi-historical claim (and we all know how many will take some or all ofitas true - most) to victories and sacrifices purchased by people of othernations. If you want to spit on someone else's flag, just spit on it,don'tsteal their histories and dishonor their heroes and their fallen soldiers.Nobody can fall back on "it's just a movie," unless they already feel athome with a British movie about how the Brits won the Battle of Midway andsaved the Americans.Americans have plenty to be proud of, plenty of heroes from that war,plentyof stories they could bring out to show their pride and grit withoutresorting to such theft.This movie should have been made as British or not at all. Another sad dayfor film.

Dr. John H. Crow

(2013-05-12 23:46:29)

Fast, entertaining, submarine movie for a fun evening.

Like so many of the movies these days, it seems the faster and louder theaction, the better the directors think they are doing. Nevertheless, thissubmarine movie is Okay. There is a mild attempt made to develop a few ofthe characters but that failed and the gang went with the action - youknow,when all else fails! I still liked the film because it kept my attentionand generally made sense. Lots and lots of action but no Oscarshere.JHC