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Actors: Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, David Keith, Jake Weber
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about U - 571 |
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U-571
Directed by Jonathan Mostow, 2000
Staring Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, David Keith, Jake Weber
Navy Lt. Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey) is the executive officer (XO) aboard the S-33, a World War I era U.S. Navy submarine. Tyler is well liked by all the members of the crew and he carries out his duties with diligence and thoroughness. He has also set his ambitions on commanding a ship of his own and is expecting to be rewarded with that command following the initial cruse of the S-33. But, as the crew goes ashore for their long awaited liberty, Tyler is crushed to learn that, at the recommendation of his captain, Lt. Commander Mike Dahlgren (Bill Paxton), the hoped for promotion has been denied.
The crew's liberty is cut short when orders are received to return to the ship and set sail immediately on a secret mission. Marine Major Matthew Coonan (David Keith) of Naval Intelligence and Lt. Hirsch (Jake Weber) join the crew for the voyage and, by order of the Admiral, Lt. Hirsch is put in charge of the ship's secret mission. Once at sea, Major Coonan and Lt. Hirsch reveal the mission which is to intercept a crippled Nazi U-boat, before a German sub arrives to repair it, and retrieve an Enigma decoder from the sub. The mission must be done secretly and the Nazi U-boat destroyed so that the Nazi's do not realize that we have captured their secret Enigma decoder.
At sea, Dahlgren tries to explain to Tyler that while he, Tyler, is an excellent officer and XO, he lacks a critical ingredient necessary to command a ship in war.
Tyler leads one of the two teams that successfully boards and captures the U-boat. But while they are rounding up the prisoners and securing the Enigma decoder, the German rescue sub arrives and destroys the American sub leaving Tyler and the boarding team on the U-boat. Moving quickly, Tyler is able to submerge the U-boat and sink the German sub with a torpedo. This gives Tyler the command he has coveted but he now has to quickly make the transition from a popular XO to commander as he and the crew now embark on the perilous journey back to England through enemy controlled waters in a crippled enemy submarine.
--Chuck Nugent, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of U - 571 |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 60%
Time/Era of Movie:
- 1930's-1950's
War Thriller
Yes
Armed Forces:
- Navy
Specific to
- WW II
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- navy soldier
Age:
- 20's-30's
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Events of movie makes character more...
- tougher
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Main Adversary
Identity:
- enemy army
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 40%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- German
Setting
Water?
Yes
Water:
- submarining
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately messy visuals of dead
Movie makes you feel...
- encouraged
How many deaths in film?
- hundreds
Kind of violence:
- ocean ship battles
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
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Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Chuck Nugent
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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