Fairly fun and suspenseful submarine movie

Rating: 7/10 (29 January 2007)

Submarine movies are a subclass of their own, and almost entirely male-specific. There are few female characters, those are very peripheral, and women tend not to like the movies. U-571 is a typically Hollywood but fairly entertaining submarine movie, with action, suspense, bravery, sacrifice and some psychological twists and moderate character development. Not a fantastic movie, but certainly entertaining and worth a rental.
As for the fuss about it being historically inaccurate, my thinking is, c'mon people, it's Hollywood. Get a grip. They're not in the business of making documentaries, but rather they are trying to sell a product. This movie was made by an American studio, and they decided, and rightly I think, that the film would be much more profitable with American characters. So they altered history, like they almost always do when making movies based on a true story.
People who know their history know of the remarkable heroism and tenacity of all of the British people in WWII, and especially their armed forces. But it's 60 years later, so let's drop the chip off the shoulder and evaluate the movie based on its artistic/entertainment merits rather than some outdated political agenda.