Enjoyable, despite holes in the sub plot.

Rating: 7/10 (21 April 2000)

U-571 has been taking a few hits on this page about the historical inaccuracies, cardboard characters and implausible facets that are in the movie, but all things considered, it was a fun film.
There's very little in the way of characterization, but once the Americans board the U-boat, there's not much time for that anyway.
This film is NOT the true story about how the Enigma was captured, and it never claims to be. Indeed the movie dedicates itself to the real life Allied heroes that actually captured the German code machine, even going so far as to give a list of the real live events in which the Allies deprived U-boats of their precious little Enigmas. The real life exploits would more then likely make for dull or clumsy cinema, hence we have this flick.
The U-571 takes part in an underwater duel with another submarine, which was exciting, but nearly impossible for WWII submarines to do. Subbies back then had to see what they were shooting at in order to do any good. Made for a nice action sequence though.
For all the above, U-571 is a fun and enjoyable film, loaded with non-stop action and suspense I spent most of my time on the edge of my seat, and the climactic confrontation was satisfying and spectacular.
Pretty much any action or WW II fan should see this movie.