Not historically accurate, but certainly enjoyable

Rating: Null/10 (18 May 2000)

Okay, I admit it. I love naval dramas, particularly where there are submarines involved. Three of my top ten favorite films are submarine movies (The Hunt for Red October, Das Boot, and Crimson Tide). So when you look at the rating I've given U-571, you can assume that two of the stars were guaranteed based on the subject alone.
For me, U-571 was eagerly anticipated. I'd see the previews, sitting on the edge of my seat, with my knees bouncing like a kid about to receive his first ice cream cone of the summer. My one concern was that this movie was going to completely distort the true history of the capture of the enigma machine in World War II. However, they easily alleviated that concern at the end by describing the actual events.
Set near the U.S. entry into World War II, this is the fictitious story of an American submarine outfitted to look like a German submarine and assigned the task of capturing a crippled German sub's code-decryption machine (enigma). The mission was nearly a success when the boarding party found itself stranded on the German sub in hostile waters.
The cast of U-571 was nothing short of phenomenal. It starred Bill Paxton (Lt. Commander Mike Dahlgren), Matthew McConaughey (Lt. Andrew Tyler), and David Keith (Major Coonan). Also in a leading role was one of my favorites, Harvey Keitel (Chief Klough), who finally gets to play a good guy! I also thought that the relative unknown, Jack Noseworthy (Sonarman Wentz) deserved honorable mention.
I want to say that the special effects were great, but I can't remember a single one. I never thought, `that's a great model' or `boy that explosion looked real'. When you think about it, the best effects are those you don't notice.
I will admit that there were a few lines that bordered on clichÃ©. `You never gave up Sir' immediately comes to mind. But ultimately this movie was a lot of fun. The action was nearly constant and the claustrophobic sense was second only to Das Boot. During one particularly intense depth-charge scene, I glanced at the friend watching the movie with me. His mouth was hung wide open and the shudder from each explosion caused him to twitch.
This movie will be on my shelf the day it's released on DVD