Current cinema ; U-571

Directed by Jonathon Mostow; starring Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi, Bill Paxton, Eric Palladino, Jack Weber and David Keith.
Depending on which side of the postmodern debate you fall on, U-571 is either a rip-off or an homage to Wolfgang Petersen’s 1982 World War II classic Das Boot. Either way, being compared to Das Boot is not necessarily a bad thing.
Like Das Boot, U-571, which was directed by Jonathon Mostow, takes place during WWII. The action begins when one of Adolf Hitler’s famous U-boats – the submarines designed to traverse the depths of the North Atlantic, cutting off supply lines between the United States and Britain – has been stranded in the icy waters after a near-fatal encounter with an Allied destroyer. Unable to make the long trip home, the surviving crew sends for help, and an Allied intelligence officer intercepts the message. An American submarine, disguised as a German re-supply vessel, is then sent to infiltrate the stranded sub and steal the boat’s Enigma, the German decoding machine that resembles a typewriter.
As if the perilous mission alone wasn’t drama enough, there’s tension on the home front. Lt. Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey) has been passed over for a promotion because his superior, Lt. Mike Dahlgren (Bill Paxton), thinks he’s not ready to make the tough decisions, like who lives and who dies. So, with Dahlgren in command, the two lieutenants, along with their gaggle of seamen including Chief (Harvey Keitel), Lt. Peter Emmett (Jon Bon Jovi), Mazzola (Erik Palladino) and Lt. Hirsch (Jack Weber) among others, are sent on the secret mission.
Needless to say, the plot is teeming with a number of nail-biting questions: Will Dahlgren die in combat, forcing Tyler to prove his leadership abilities? Will a recalcitrant enlistee question Tyler’s competence along the way? Will there be one too many action sequences with lots of sweat, explosions and special effects? Will Tyler eventually earn respect by devising an imaginative plan to save his crew? And last, but certainly not least, will Tyler, finally forced to face the tough decisions, lose men along the way?
While the answers may be as predictable as an episode of Gilligan’s Island – yes, yes, yes, yes and yes – if you like war movies, and/or Matthew McConaughey, the movie is definitely worth seeing. For instance, it’s always fun to try and predict which sailors will make it to the final credits and which ones will perish along the way.
Of course, don’t expect the existential introspection of Das Boot. Shallow yet entertaining, U-571 is simply an edge-of-your-seat, gnaw-on-your-Twizzler, hold-in-your-pee-till-the-movie’s-over-even-though-you-know-what’s-going-to-happen, action/adventure that happens to take place during a war.