Rewatch Das Boot

Rating: Null/10 (24 April 2000)

Certain images and plot conventions recirculate within film genres, such as the war film and its subgenre(sorry about the pun), the submarine film. However, when a film reproduces identical shots from other sub films (see depth charge attack from Das Boot)it indicates a certain, shall we say, poverty of the imagination.
Unlike Das Boot, U-571 plumbs the depths of every bad sub cliche tacked onto a tired Oedipal plot: Young, soft, exec(the inexplicably popular Matthew M) has to step up and prove to surrogate daddy-captain (the wonderful Bill Paxton who dies much too soon) that he is REALLY A MAN. Which he proves by letting men under his command die for their country.
On the plus side, it is really loud.
So save your hard-earned money and get a good subtitled (not dubbed) copy of Das Boot, the Director's Cut for your weekend warrior viewing.