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U-571
Movie Stats & Links

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jon Bon Jovi, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel
MPAA Rated: PG-13
Released By: Universal Pictures
Web Site: www.u571.com
Kiddie Movie: Not too young.
Date Movie:  This is a dude movie through and through.
Gratuitous Sex: Nope.
Gratuitous Violence: Things get blown up, and some graphic scenes were cut to keep it PG-13.
Action: Lots, and suspense.
Laughs: Not really.
Memorable Scene: A barrage of depth charges.
Memorable Quote: I can't remember it exactly, but it was something like:
Tyler: "Tank, are you alive back there?"
Tank: "Yea."
Tyler: "Good."
Directed By: Jonathan Mostow
Produced By: Dino De Laurentiis, Martha De Laurentiis

U-571
A Movie Review

MPAA Rated - PG-13

It's 1:56 Long

A Review by
The Dude on the Right
Sometimes movies are chick flicks.  Sometimes movies are for couples. But sometimes a movie is for the dudes, made for the dudes, and although the dudettes might go, it is still a dude movie. "U-571" is a dude movie. And a pretty kick-ass dude movie at that.

Here’s the basic story. It’s the time of the big war, WWII, and the German’s have the upper hand in the seas because they’ve got the U-Boats with a secret code machine so the Allies can’t get a handle on their doings. But the US has a plan. It’s a sneaky plan, but a plan nonetheless, and it involves capturing the decoder box without the head German’s knowing it. There’s a German sub with some bum flippers, waiting in the ocean for rescue and repair, so the Americans send a fake German sub, trying to outrace the real German sub so they can steal the decoder box. And things are going well until their ride home gets blown up and they’re stuck on the broken German sub, trying to figure out a way home without dying while still keeping the decoder box. It then turns into an ocean game of cat and mouse, dodging depth charges, and just hoping their German sub doesn’t implode. Even with the likes of Matthew McConaughey and Jon Bon Jovi, this is one for the dudes. And a good one.

Matthew plays Lt. Tyler, a sea dude who keeps getting passed over for the chance to get his own boat for reasons he doesn’t understand, but basically because his boss (Bill Paxton as Lt. Cmdr. Dahlgren) doesn’t think he is ready to send one of his crew on what may be a death mission. And Tyler doesn’t come off as ready to do that either, but kind of gets forced to make those decisions once trapped on the U-Boat where he is forced into being in charge. He’s got a few of his crew with him, although a few get offed or their heads blown off in the initial raid and escape, and they too struggle with the fact if Tyler has what it takes to be a leader and not their buddy. But leave it to Chief Klough (Harvey Keitel) to set Tyler straight, teach him what leading is all about, and see Tyler grow in a few heartbeats from an unsure leader not knowing how to lead, to a man who finally realizes that being a commander means making decisions, outwardly showing your decision is correct when inside you are unsure, and knowing that you may have to send someone to possibly sacrifice their life for the success of the mission. McConaughey shows this transition in pretty decent fashion.

"U-571" gives you a movie about war, but unlike "Saving Private Ryan" showing the bloody side of war, the submarines were about blowing shit out of the water before you got blown-up, and "U-571" does a great job showing this. Film-wise you get a movie that shows the perils and blindness of being in a submarine, sound-wise you get one of the best uses of surround sound I have heard in a theater in a while, and you just get a good action film that seems a little far-fetched but as a guy, I want to see things get blown up, I want some suspense, I want the good guys to win, and I got all of that with "U-571." With that it’s 4 stars out of 5 for "U-571."

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

 

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