Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageU-571 (2000)
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
In 1942, to frustrate the Nazis decimating the Atlantic convoys, the US Navy plans to capture a stricken U-boat - carrying the Enigma coding device - with a fake German rescue sub. The operation goes disastrously wrong. However, Lt Tyler (McConaughey, sonambulent), a popular but frustrated officer, proves his worth by navigating the U-boat plus its vital device into safe waters. Aided by persuasive effects and authoritative production design from Götz (Das Boot) Weidner, writer/director Mostow pays his dues to the genre, but without much charge and even less depth. After an overextended landlocked prologue, the film pits Tyler and his sub against the German navy in a series of efficient if predictable cat and mouse encounters. A natural climax eludes the film-makers and instead an endnote asks us, with some gall, to view this Americanised composite as a tribute to largely British actions during WWII.Author: MHi
Cast & crew
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Producer: Dino De Laurentiis, Martha De Laurentiis
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Jon Bon Jovi, Harvey Keitel, David Keith, Thomas Kretschmann, Jake Weber, Jack Noseworthy, Thomas Guiry full cast
Duration: 116 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now