This week's movie is U-571, a World War II action film starring Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keitel, Bill Paxton, Jon Bon Jovi, and several people whom I recognize but don't know their names. The movie opens in 1942, a German sub has just sunk a transport and is surprised by a British destroyer. The sub tries to evade, but takes heavy damage escaping from the Brits. With both engines damaged and all her mechanics dead, U-571 sends out a distress message for mechanics and spare parts.

Back in the United States, the S-33 (and I can't remember nor find the name of the boat), a rather ancient and outdated submarine, is just back from an Atlantic patrol. Her crew is celebrating both the wedding of one of the crewmen and the impending promotion of Lt Andrew Tyler (McConaughey), the X-O of the S-33. Unfortunately, Tyler is angry and confronts Lt Commander Mike Dahlgren (Paxton), who apparently didn't recommend Tyle for promotion.

Tyler is devastated and is comforted by Chief Klough (Keitel), a submariner of many years. The mood is shattered as the MPs come in, saying that their leaves are cancelled and that everyone must report back to base. Skimming over some scenes, we find out that Intelligence intercepted the U-571's transmission and, although they can't crack the Enigma Code, have guessed what has happened based on the British report and the report that a resupply sub just departed from France with extra machinists and spare parts.

So the S-33 is modified to look like a German U-boat, and then it's sent out to sea. It's mission is to capture the U-571's Enigma Machine through a boarding action led by Lt Tyler and Marine Major Coonan (David Keith). Will the mission go as planned? (Sort of). Will our heroes make it out alive? (Mostly). Will there be a lot of action? (Definitely).

At the end of the film, they do mention that Enigma Machines were captured two or three times, all by British crewmen. This movie is fictional; although I'm sure there were one or two US subs in the Atlantic, most were in the Pacific fighting Japan. But because it's totally fictional, the writers have had free rein to put in all the twists and turns and drama that they want into the story.

McConaughey does a good job. Previously I've seen him in "A Time to Kill", "Amistad", "Contact", and "Edtv" and he's shown himself to be a capable actor. In interviews he doesn't come off as being all that personable though. Paxton I've seen in quite a few movies: "Weird Science", "Aliens", "Navy SEALS", "Predator 2", "Tombstone", "True Lies", "Apollo 13", "Twister", and some other movies where I don't remember him. He's also a good, although has less camera presence than McConaughey. Loved him as Hudson in "Aliens".

Harvey Keitel has been around a long time. He's an actor that everyone said was really good yet I hadn't seen him (or at least hadn't noticed) until "Pulp Fiction". He's got a weathered tough guy look to him, kind of like DeNiro but not as crazed. In U-571 he's the tough senior enlisted man and keeps the crew going when everyone else starts to doubt Lt Tyler's abilities as a commander.

Recommendations. I think the movie is well worth a look. It's exciting and dramatic and epic. It's not as heart-rending as Saving Private Ryan, and I prefer the modern sub movies like Hunt for Red October and Crimson Tide, but this is a good movie. Authentic looking submarine and operations. A few hard- to-believe-it-could-happen-in-real-life scenes. I suppose I wanted it to be more realistic in terms of what happens, more in line with Saving Private Ryan. Don't let my few negative comments dissuade you. It's a good story, and just about everyone should like it.