U-571

You're the skipper now. The skipper always knows what to do, even when he doesn't.

A review by Mike Shea Movie Rating: ( * · · · · ) DVD Rating: ( * * * * · )

I don't know what it is with puke rule)!. I asked my mom if U-571 was good. She said yes. I asked her whether U-571 even came close to Das Boot. She said no. So then I asked her if it was worth watching U-571 or simply watching Das Boot again, she voted for the latter. When it comes right down to it, having two movies about getting shelled, depth charged and going really deep, forces one of them to be the best. Das Boot is it. If you ever wanted to see a movie about live in a U Boat, go see Das Boot. If you want to poke fun at Bill Paxton, though, you may want to pick this one up. Some blockbuster lemmings might tell you that the stories are completly different, but what does that matter if 95% of the scenes are almost identical? There just isn't enough story to make U-571 any more interesting than Das Boot. Sure every movie should be taken on it's own, but when it comes right down to it, if there is another movie just like it, go see the best one. There are some good points to U-571. Some of the scenes are actually a little bit interesting, and there are a couple of scenes that deal with self sacrifice but are tainted with a Paxtonish taint.

The DVD is a fine transfer with a 2.35 to 1 16x9 enhanced picture and a nice Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. There is a directors commentary as well as a bunch of special features including some historical stuff.

When it comes right down to it, U-571 is the Twister of submarine movies. The story is rittled with minor subplots, the acting is horrible and the movie itself was done much better almost 30 years ago. If you have never seen Das Boot, there is no reason what so ever to see this movie. Das Boot is 20 times better, go see it instead. As for Bill Paxton, his best career move would be to retire to an island and count all his cash before someone figures out that he has never been a real actor.