I'm rating this one a 6--spoilers ahoy. I live just half an hour from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, so I've been enamoured of the story of the Squalus since I was in seventh grade. Naturally, I was very excited to hear about this movie. Then I saw it and couldn't help laughing.
First of all, it is definitely not filmed on location. I've been inside the shipyard with my dad, and it looks nothing like the yard shown in the movie. But I'll be lenient on that one because the producers would be hard pressed to gain access to an active military facility. However, I will not be lenient on the unimaginable volumes of material ripped off from "U-571"! Models, sets, scenes, and musical strains, all siphoned out of "U-571" like nobody's business. If the Squalus looked that much like a U-boat, it's no wonder it sank! (Not to mention the constant mispronunciation of "Squalus" throughout the movie...)
But then there's the story. It's a true story, and the movie does it great justice. There's a Squalus survivor who still lives in these parts, and I had the once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet him on one of my visits to the shipyard. He burned his account of the sinking into my brain, and as I watched the movie, it was as true to his story as could be. Having heard the story, I knew how it would end, but somehow, the producers still managed to make it a nail-biter! The scene in which the last group of survivors is brought to the surface was excellently done. Pure chance that Sam Neill, as good an actor as he is, bears such a fine resemblance to Swede Momsen.
Story-wise, it's a great movie; that's why I'm giving it a 6. But be prepared to get a few chuckles out of it if you live in Portsmouth or have seen "U-571" before; that's why I'm deducting 4.
Oh, and guys? Next time we make a submarine flick, can we remember to shut down the diesel engines BEFORE we close the main induction?
First of all, it is definitely not filmed on location. I've been inside the shipyard with my dad, and it looks nothing like the yard shown in the movie. But I'll be lenient on that one because the producers would be hard pressed to gain access to an active military facility. However, I will not be lenient on the unimaginable volumes of material ripped off from "U-571"! Models, sets, scenes, and musical strains, all siphoned out of "U-571" like nobody's business. If the Squalus looked that much like a U-boat, it's no wonder it sank! (Not to mention the constant mispronunciation of "Squalus" throughout the movie...)
But then there's the story. It's a true story, and the movie does it great justice. There's a Squalus survivor who still lives in these parts, and I had the once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet him on one of my visits to the shipyard. He burned his account of the sinking into my brain, and as I watched the movie, it was as true to his story as could be. Having heard the story, I knew how it would end, but somehow, the producers still managed to make it a nail-biter! The scene in which the last group of survivors is brought to the surface was excellently done. Pure chance that Sam Neill, as good an actor as he is, bears such a fine resemblance to Swede Momsen.
Story-wise, it's a great movie; that's why I'm giving it a 6. But be prepared to get a few chuckles out of it if you live in Portsmouth or have seen "U-571" before; that's why I'm deducting 4.
Oh, and guys? Next time we make a submarine flick, can we remember to shut down the diesel engines BEFORE we close the main induction?