30 Second Bottom Line: German subs are winning WW II, in part because they have sunk over 1,000 ships in the Atlantic with sneak attacks. Americans get a chance to break the secret radio transmission codes of the battle plans when a German sub is disabled. They want to steal the Enigma radio and sink the ship so the Germans don't know they have broken the code.

Story Line: Damage from exploding depth charges leaves a German sub adrift at sea. They communicate with base operations and a rescue ship is sent to their aid. The French resistance learns of the plans and a race is on to have a disguised American ship get there first. On the American sub is someone who speaks German, to help Tyler (Matthew McConaughey), 2nd in command, and Captain Dahlgren (Bill Paxton) gain access to the ship before commencing an attack. Tyler boards the German sub, and after a shoot-out, removes the radio, called the Enigma machine, and then explodes a bomb that will sink the ship. The key is that the Germans at headquarters don't know the Enigma has been removed.

As they pose for a picture and revel in their victory, a torpedo from the German rescue ship is launched toward the American Sub. It hits the mark and Dahlgren is killed, which gives Tyler the position of Captain. Now the American crew must, on the spot, learn to operate a German sub and avoid being sunk by other Americans out to sink enemy ships.

Tell Me More About It: As with most submarine movies, the setting in the depths of the ocean, with the cat and mouse games, make for good drama. This is the case here and much of the movie is a lot of fun; though the film has more slick style than substance. First we learn that Dahlgren keeps Tyler from getting command of his own ship because Tyler is too friendly with his men, which of course means, that he needs to have a chance to prove himself. So the focus of the story shifts from the importance of one country against another, or one sub and destroyer crew at battle on the sea, and becomes instead about one person being able to redeem himself, to remove questions he has of himself.

During this time the military was segregated, and steward (cook) was the only job a black could have on a sub. Eddie (T.C. Carson), a steward, is smart and when everyone is working to survive he does his part, and Carson enjoys an expanded role. This rings true, as my father-in-law was in a similar position at Pearl Harbor, and while a steward he also manned a machine gun to shoot at the attacking Japanese planes on December 7, 1941.

Two major items were historically distorted. More important is that the Americans did not get the Enigma radio; the English did. Also, in the early 40's, not only was the military segregated racially, it was segregated via class and rank. Officers and enlisted men had separate entertainment clubs (true up until the late `60's when I managed an officers club in Fort Lewis, Washington). Here we see enlisted people in the same club as the officers, asking the XO, second in command, to join them later for a beer.

The Chief (Harvey Keitel) calls out "decks awash," as the American submarine dives to begin the mission. At only 60 feet down the sub begins to leak and the comment is made that the boat is older than most of the crew. Might this be a tad overboard on foreshadowing future events?

Don't try to follow the key characters as closely as you might normally do, because some just disappear due to uneven editing. I understand to obtain a PG-13 rating it was necessary to tone down the violence. When the chips are down the Germans are either extremely bad shots, or the Americans are lucky or just super smart. This manipulation takes the edge off of the film with respect to creating a suspenseful situation and raising it a notch or two.

The plan to escape the German destroyer is masterful, as is the approach to beat the destroyer at its game of reversing the role of the cat and the mouse. The suspense sort of leaks away rather than sinking completely.

If you've never seen a submarine movie before this may appear to be a great film. But if you have, then you know more could have been done. I liked the film to a degree and if you do also, rent "Das Boot," (German for "The Boat") and you'll see just what was missing in U-571.