Sets this year's standard in suspense

Rating: 8/10 (22 April 2000)

There's no mistake that "U-571" is intended to be a suspense thriller - there is little dialogue and an huge emphasis on special effects and dramatic music.
And as a thriller, "U-571" is among the best in the category.
However, what puts "U-571" over the top is how intelligent it is when it tries to be more than a thriller. The movie is also a first-class drama, with superb acting, dialogue, plot and character development.
Set during a fictional naval mission from World War II, "U-571" tells the story of an American submarine crew sent to steal secret code information from the title Nazi submarine. However, during the mission, another Nazi submarine destroys the Americans' ship, leaving the crew stranded on an enemy ship in enemy territory.
The movie is able to accomplish a lot of difficult blending. Not only is it able to be both dramatic and action-packed, but it is also able to remain extremely detailed to naval lingo without being confusing to average viewers.
From an acting standpoint, the movie is a huge success. This is Matthew McConaughey's finest performance to date, and the supporting cast is equally superb. Few movies allow a character to be defined without words, but the view knows within the first minute McConaughey is on the screen exactly what his character is all about.
Harvey Keitel leads the list of co-stars, brilliantly portraying the ship's wise chief petty officer. Also terrific in the film is Jake Weber, who plays a suave operations commander who has to learn the ropes of being aboard a submarine.
All in all, there is nothing wrong with this movie. It perfectly gauges when to build tension, and when to relieve it. Its special effects are hardly noticeable because they fit in so seamlessly with the rest of the film. The sound is well distributed around the theater to give the viewer the feeling of actually being in the submarine. And the music is a masterpiece at setting moods of vulnerability, fear and triumph.
"U-571" will undoubtedly be chastised for creating a piece of fiction about historical events. However, some of the most successful historical movies draw a tangent away from the history books into a completely fictional story ("Titanic," "Saving Private Ryan"). "U-571" is no different.
This film deserves plenty of attention from viewers for what can only be called an achievement of action filmmaking.