Neither entertaining nor good !

Rating: 2/10 (10 May 2000)

I am admittedly a fan of submarine-warfare movies and books, and will alos admit to overlooking some factual 'inaccuracies' as long as the plot gets furthered by them. As for 'U-571' - If you honestly want to see a submarine move, pick another ! This flick is far to clean shaven, scrubbed and streamlined to even remotely resemble real life and duty on a submarine, even under preent day conditions. Watch "The Boat" instead especially the director's cut, for an impression of 'life' on a submarine.
As for historical 'accuraccy' - It has been mentioned before that the Polish, French and English secret services originally 'accquired' the Enigma machine during the thirties - and by '41 were regularly reading the U-boat dispatches ( with corresponding massive effect on the naval war) - rendering the basic premise of the movie void from the start......

As for the uninspired acting - actually nothing much was expected, so the disappointment was managable......
Stil, it might be fun watching it as a total no-brainer zoned out with a cask of beer. Then again, there are more memorable movies ! Leave it be