Jonathan-Mostow Movie Reviews

A youngish couple (Kurt Russell & Kathleen Quinlan) are moving from Massachusetts to California, and somewhere in the southwestern desert, their new SUV breaks down. A friendly trucker comes along, offers help, and Quinlan accepts a ride to a nearby diner to call for help while Russell waits with the car. He gets the car started on his own, and heads to the diner. His wife is nowhere to be found, and when Russell catches up with the trucker, the trucker denies any knowledge of the knowing him or his wife.

That's the setup that takes place in the first twenty minutes or so. After that, BREAKDOWN is a thriller as Russell, a meek man driver by desparation, tries to figure out what has happened to his wife with very little evidence to go on. There are chase scenes galore.

The situation is actually quite preposterous, and gets more so as the movie goes along. The scheme that is uncovered is very elaborate, and seems like an awful lot of trouble for the culprits to go through. But Kurt Russell is so down to earth and believable, and the bad guys actually quite mundane, that the plot somehow doesn't seem totally ridiculous. The movie, obviously fairly low budget, is gritty and not too glossy. There aren't too many explosions, but there are PLENTY of cliffhangers, and because we can so readily identify with Russell's character, thanks to his convincing performance, we really feel for him and what he is going through. Situations that might seem like minor jeopardy in something more grandiose (like a DIE HARD movie, perhaps) are very tense and exciting in BREAKDOWN.

As I said, Russell is very good. It's interesting that this actor, who has been "famous" since a teen, is so convincing playing an "everyman" type. He's handsome, but not too much so, and when he runs around crazily, or is involved in a chase scene, he doesn't just suddenly develop amazing abilities. He looks scared, dirty, sweaty and ticked off. He is a man driven by shear fear for his wife, and anger. It's a convincing performance,and one of his best.

Quinlan, who understandably isn't in much of the movie, is also very good, and is a convincing match with Russell. JT Walsh, the main bad guy, is very good because he never really drops the veneer of being a regular guy,except in a couple of scenes. This was the wonderful character actor's last movie, and he left with a doozy.

This movie didn't do to well at the box office, but word of mouth has really helped it out on video. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It is rated R, but the main reason for that is not graphic violence (there's not much blood, really) but just an occasional outburst of bad language. It's a thriller that would work well for those who don't like a lot of gore and gunplay.

"Breakdown" is a thriller about a couple whose car breaks down in the middle of the desert in the West. Out in the middle of nowhere, the wife hitches a ride with a truck driver, but never returns.

Director Jonathon Mostow has certainly created a terrific little thriller here, infusing his scenes with genuine suspense, and a mystery surrounding the wife's disappearance that progresses very nicely. Under some very powerful performances from Kurt Russell and J.T. Walsh, this action film has a lot to offer.

The movie begins with a near-accident between a Jeep and a pickup truck. In the Jeep are Jeff and Amy Taylor (Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan), a married couple moving from Massachusetts to San Diego, who are confronted by the man in the pickup when they stop at a gas station. Passing it off, they continue on their way, only to experience car trouble soon after. Luckily, a semi pulls up, offering them a ride. Amy goes, and Jeff stays behind to watch the car.

When his wife does not come back, he finally realizes the car's malfunction (obviously not a mechanically inclined person), and makes his way to any place he can find, stopping at a small cafe to inquire about his wife's whereabouts; they know nothing. He catches up to Red Barr (J.T. Walsh), the man driving the semi, but Barr denies even knowing who he is as a cop searches the truck and finds nothing, no traceable evidence of Amy.

So where is she? The movie keeps us at bay for quite a while, allowing Kurt Russell to give us some very dynamic acting as he plays out all of Jeff's inner collapses and states of confusion. Russell has always been good at playing the action hero, but here, he is the one being chased, the one being toyed with, and in this interesting turn of events, he pulls it off successfully, convincing us of his emotional drive to find his missing wife.

J.T. Walsh is equally impressive as Warren (a.k.a. Red Barr), who, along with his road pals (including the man in the pickup from the beginning), have plans in store for Jeff, the pawn in their lethal game of chess. Walsh was gifted with one of those faces, those strong, stern faces that could cause mountains to crumble at a mere glance. Here, he is harsh and overbearing, fitting the role with an unsettling ease.

As the mystery unfolds, the action begins. Russell is in even finer form during the film's second half, as he gets involved in a high-speed chase and must figure out a way to elude his pursuants. I'm going to do my best not to give away their intentions, which may come as a letdown to some, given the initial paths the story takes, but the commencing action and breath-holding finale are a tour de force of thrills, chases, and suspense-packed action.

At the helm of this project is director Jonathon Mostow, who uses his photography to add to the intensity of the story. Here, he chooses to surround us with wide open spaces to convey to emptiness and vastness of the western terrain, adding to the overwhelming sense of dread that Jeff must be feeling in search of his wife. He also puts us right in the middle of some very intense car chases, and a scene involving Jeff making his way along the bottom of a moving truck is full of tension.

If you are able to break down the mystery behind "Breakdown," you may be at a loss. But the movie does a pretty good job of keeping it hidden from a mainstream audience, and those in the mood for a story that keeps you waiting will find pleasure in its many exciting twists. The action is intense and involving (I almost cheered at the closing credits), and Mostow knows what he is doing, as do the cast members. I had a large smile on my face after this film, a smile of satisfaction that very few movies have ever put on my face.

THIS IS ONE HECK OF A MOVIE. Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh and director Jonathan Mostow combine to bring about a suspense-filled, action-packed thriller. Russell commands the movie, showing all the frustration, rage, and terror he feels in his pursuit of the rednecks who have absconded his wife. Walsh is an unparallelled villain, able to pull off his dastardly deeds and then go home to his wife and son. The scene in which both he and his wife tell their little boy to kill Russell is downright horrifying. Kathleen Quinlan, a good actress, doesn't have much screen time, but does well with what little she has. Mostow crafts some supremely bone-chilling chase scenes and the ending is breathtaking. I too wanted to cheer when the credits rolled.
A brilliant, underappreciated film.

A youngish couple (Kurt Russell & Kathleen Quinlan) are moving from Massachusetts to California, and somewhere in the southwestern desert, their new SUV breaks down. A friendly trucker comes along, offers help, and Quinlan accepts a ride to a nearby diner to call for help while Russell waits with the car. He gets the car started on his own, and heads to the diner. His wife is nowhere to be found, and when Russell catches up with the trucker, the trucker denies any knowledge of the knowing him or his wife.

That's the setup that takes place in the first twenty minutes or so. After that, BREAKDOWN is a thriller as Russell, a meek man driver by desparation, tries to figure out what has happened to his wife with very little evidence to go on. There are chase scenes galore.

The situation is actually quite preposterous, and gets more so as the movie goes along. The scheme that is uncovered is very elaborate, and seems like an awful lot of trouble for the culprits to go through. But Kurt Russell is so down to earth and believable, and the bad guys actually quite mundane, that the plot somehow doesn't seem totally ridiculous. The movie, obviously fairly low budget, is gritty and not too glossy. There aren't too many explosions, but there are PLENTY of cliffhangers, and because we can so readily identify with Russell's character, thanks to his convincing performance, we really feel for him and what he is going through. Situations that might seem like minor jeopardy in something more grandiose (like a DIE HARD movie, perhaps) are very tense and exciting in BREAKDOWN.

As I said, Russell is very good. It's interesting that this actor, who has been "famous" since a teen, is so convincing playing an "everyman" type. He's handsome, but not too much so, and when he runs around crazily, or is involved in a chase scene, he doesn't just suddenly develop amazing abilities. He looks scared, dirty, sweaty and ticked off. He is a man driven by shear fear for his wife, and anger. It's a convincing performance,and one of his best.

Quinlan, who understandably isn't in much of the movie, is also very good, and is a convincing match with Russell. JT Walsh, the main bad guy, is very good because he never really drops the veneer of being a regular guy,except in a couple of scenes. This was the wonderful character actor's last movie, and he left with a doozy.

This movie didn't do to well at the box office, but word of mouth has really helped it out on video. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It is rated R, but the main reason for that is not graphic violence (there's not much blood, really) but just an occasional outburst of bad language. It's a thriller that would work well for those who don't like a lot of gore and gunplay.

"Breakdown" is a thriller about a couple whose car breaks down in the middle of the desert in the West. Out in the middle of nowhere, the wife hitches a ride with a truck driver, but never returns.

Director Jonathon Mostow has certainly created a terrific little thriller here, infusing his scenes with genuine suspense, and a mystery surrounding the wife's disappearance that progresses very nicely. Under some very powerful performances from Kurt Russell and J.T. Walsh, this action film has a lot to offer.

The movie begins with a near-accident between a Jeep and a pickup truck. In the Jeep are Jeff and Amy Taylor (Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan), a married couple moving from Massachusetts to San Diego, who are confronted by the man in the pickup when they stop at a gas station. Passing it off, they continue on their way, only to experience car trouble soon after. Luckily, a semi pulls up, offering them a ride. Amy goes, and Jeff stays behind to watch the car.

When his wife does not come back, he finally realizes the car's malfunction (obviously not a mechanically inclined person), and makes his way to any place he can find, stopping at a small cafe to inquire about his wife's whereabouts; they know nothing. He catches up to Red Barr (J.T. Walsh), the man driving the semi, but Barr denies even knowing who he is as a cop searches the truck and finds nothing, no traceable evidence of Amy.

So where is she? The movie keeps us at bay for quite a while, allowing Kurt Russell to give us some very dynamic acting as he plays out all of Jeff's inner collapses and states of confusion. Russell has always been good at playing the action hero, but here, he is the one being chased, the one being toyed with, and in this interesting turn of events, he pulls it off successfully, convincing us of his emotional drive to find his missing wife.

J.T. Walsh is equally impressive as Warren (a.k.a. Red Barr), who, along with his road pals (including the man in the pickup from the beginning), have plans in store for Jeff, the pawn in their lethal game of chess. Walsh was gifted with one of those faces, those strong, stern faces that could cause mountains to crumble at a mere glance. Here, he is harsh and overbearing, fitting the role with an unsettling ease.

As the mystery unfolds, the action begins. Russell is in even finer form during the film's second half, as he gets involved in a high-speed chase and must figure out a way to elude his pursuants. I'm going to do my best not to give away their intentions, which may come as a letdown to some, given the initial paths the story takes, but the commencing action and breath-holding finale are a tour de force of thrills, chases, and suspense-packed action.

At the helm of this project is director Jonathon Mostow, who uses his photography to add to the intensity of the story. Here, he chooses to surround us with wide open spaces to convey to emptiness and vastness of the western terrain, adding to the overwhelming sense of dread that Jeff must be feeling in search of his wife. He also puts us right in the middle of some very intense car chases, and a scene involving Jeff making his way along the bottom of a moving truck is full of tension.

If you are able to break down the mystery behind "Breakdown," you may be at a loss. But the movie does a pretty good job of keeping it hidden from a mainstream audience, and those in the mood for a story that keeps you waiting will find pleasure in its many exciting twists. The action is intense and involving (I almost cheered at the closing credits), and Mostow knows what he is doing, as do the cast members. I had a large smile on my face after this film, a smile of satisfaction that very few movies have ever put on my face.

THIS IS ONE HECK OF A MOVIE. Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh and director Jonathan Mostow combine to bring about a suspense-filled, action-packed thriller. Russell commands the movie, showing all the frustration, rage, and terror he feels in his pursuit of the rednecks who have absconded his wife. Walsh is an unparallelled villain, able to pull off his dastardly deeds and then go home to his wife and son. The scene in which both he and his wife tell their little boy to kill Russell is downright horrifying. Kathleen Quinlan, a good actress, doesn't have much screen time, but does well with what little she has. Mostow crafts some supremely bone-chilling chase scenes and the ending is breathtaking. I too wanted to cheer when the credits rolled.
A brilliant, underappreciated film.

A youngish couple (Kurt Russell & Kathleen Quinlan) are moving from Massachusetts to California, and somewhere in the southwestern desert, their new SUV breaks down. A friendly trucker comes along, offers help, and Quinlan accepts a ride to a nearby diner to call for help while Russell waits with the car. He gets the car started on his own, and heads to the diner. His wife is nowhere to be found, and when Russell catches up with the trucker, the trucker denies any knowledge of the knowing him or his wife.

That's the setup that takes place in the first twenty minutes or so. After that, BREAKDOWN is a thriller as Russell, a meek man driver by desparation, tries to figure out what has happened to his wife with very little evidence to go on. There are chase scenes galore.

The situation is actually quite preposterous, and gets more so as the movie goes along. The scheme that is uncovered is very elaborate, and seems like an awful lot of trouble for the culprits to go through. But Kurt Russell is so down to earth and believable, and the bad guys actually quite mundane, that the plot somehow doesn't seem totally ridiculous. The movie, obviously fairly low budget, is gritty and not too glossy. There aren't too many explosions, but there are PLENTY of cliffhangers, and because we can so readily identify with Russell's character, thanks to his convincing performance, we really feel for him and what he is going through. Situations that might seem like minor jeopardy in something more grandiose (like a DIE HARD movie, perhaps) are very tense and exciting in BREAKDOWN.

As I said, Russell is very good. It's interesting that this actor, who has been "famous" since a teen, is so convincing playing an "everyman" type. He's handsome, but not too much so, and when he runs around crazily, or is involved in a chase scene, he doesn't just suddenly develop amazing abilities. He looks scared, dirty, sweaty and ticked off. He is a man driven by shear fear for his wife, and anger. It's a convincing performance,and one of his best.

Quinlan, who understandably isn't in much of the movie, is also very good, and is a convincing match with Russell. JT Walsh, the main bad guy, is very good because he never really drops the veneer of being a regular guy,except in a couple of scenes. This was the wonderful character actor's last movie, and he left with a doozy.

This movie didn't do to well at the box office, but word of mouth has really helped it out on video. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It is rated R, but the main reason for that is not graphic violence (there's not much blood, really) but just an occasional outburst of bad language. It's a thriller that would work well for those who don't like a lot of gore and gunplay.

"Breakdown" is a thriller about a couple whose car breaks down in the middle of the desert in the West. Out in the middle of nowhere, the wife hitches a ride with a truck driver, but never returns.

Director Jonathon Mostow has certainly created a terrific little thriller here, infusing his scenes with genuine suspense, and a mystery surrounding the wife's disappearance that progresses very nicely. Under some very powerful performances from Kurt Russell and J.T. Walsh, this action film has a lot to offer.

The movie begins with a near-accident between a Jeep and a pickup truck. In the Jeep are Jeff and Amy Taylor (Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan), a married couple moving from Massachusetts to San Diego, who are confronted by the man in the pickup when they stop at a gas station. Passing it off, they continue on their way, only to experience car trouble soon after. Luckily, a semi pulls up, offering them a ride. Amy goes, and Jeff stays behind to watch the car.

When his wife does not come back, he finally realizes the car's malfunction (obviously not a mechanically inclined person), and makes his way to any place he can find, stopping at a small cafe to inquire about his wife's whereabouts; they know nothing. He catches up to Red Barr (J.T. Walsh), the man driving the semi, but Barr denies even knowing who he is as a cop searches the truck and finds nothing, no traceable evidence of Amy.

So where is she? The movie keeps us at bay for quite a while, allowing Kurt Russell to give us some very dynamic acting as he plays out all of Jeff's inner collapses and states of confusion. Russell has always been good at playing the action hero, but here, he is the one being chased, the one being toyed with, and in this interesting turn of events, he pulls it off successfully, convincing us of his emotional drive to find his missing wife.

J.T. Walsh is equally impressive as Warren (a.k.a. Red Barr), who, along with his road pals (including the man in the pickup from the beginning), have plans in store for Jeff, the pawn in their lethal game of chess. Walsh was gifted with one of those faces, those strong, stern faces that could cause mountains to crumble at a mere glance. Here, he is harsh and overbearing, fitting the role with an unsettling ease.

As the mystery unfolds, the action begins. Russell is in even finer form during the film's second half, as he gets involved in a high-speed chase and must figure out a way to elude his pursuants. I'm going to do my best not to give away their intentions, which may come as a letdown to some, given the initial paths the story takes, but the commencing action and breath-holding finale are a tour de force of thrills, chases, and suspense-packed action.

At the helm of this project is director Jonathon Mostow, who uses his photography to add to the intensity of the story. Here, he chooses to surround us with wide open spaces to convey to emptiness and vastness of the western terrain, adding to the overwhelming sense of dread that Jeff must be feeling in search of his wife. He also puts us right in the middle of some very intense car chases, and a scene involving Jeff making his way along the bottom of a moving truck is full of tension.

If you are able to break down the mystery behind "Breakdown," you may be at a loss. But the movie does a pretty good job of keeping it hidden from a mainstream audience, and those in the mood for a story that keeps you waiting will find pleasure in its many exciting twists. The action is intense and involving (I almost cheered at the closing credits), and Mostow knows what he is doing, as do the cast members. I had a large smile on my face after this film, a smile of satisfaction that very few movies have ever put on my face.

THIS IS ONE HECK OF A MOVIE. Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh and director Jonathan Mostow combine to bring about a suspense-filled, action-packed thriller. Russell commands the movie, showing all the frustration, rage, and terror he feels in his pursuit of the rednecks who have absconded his wife. Walsh is an unparallelled villain, able to pull off his dastardly deeds and then go home to his wife and son. The scene in which both he and his wife tell their little boy to kill Russell is downright horrifying. Kathleen Quinlan, a good actress, doesn't have much screen time, but does well with what little she has. Mostow crafts some supremely bone-chilling chase scenes and the ending is breathtaking. I too wanted to cheer when the credits rolled.
A brilliant, underappreciated film.

If you don't like this DVD, I'd just tell you to "talk to the hand".

I'll limit my comments on the movie itself, since everybody has probably seen it by now, to saying that the "R" rating is mostly due to the fact that the terminators materialize w/o clothes. The violence itself probably isn't enough to move it past the PG rating.

The DVD does have some very well-done specail material...

The "Sgt. Candy" scene is required viewing for terminator fans - it is both amusing and answers a few lingering questions about the terminator - it probably should have been included in the movie itself. There is also an intro by Ahnold himself and a documentary that are worth viewing. There is a short, well-produced gag reel complete with music and a few effects. My favorite gag is the terminator walking through the military compund, machine gun in hand, puffing on a huge Ahnold-signature cigar. There is also an enticing preview of the T3 computer game that is enough to make one want to check it out. Other DVD featurettes and supplementing material are: visual effects segment, skynet database, terminator timeline, storyboards, dressed to kill (wardrobe featurette), toys in action (about T3 action figures), and french subtitles.

The movie I rate at 3.5 stars, the DVD package as a whole gets a 4 stars since it is so well produced. This would make a good Christmas gift for a T3 fan.

Everyone had their version of this movie in their head before it came out. The film was hardly what most expected. However, I enjoyed the film. There are upsetting reasons why this film isn't what it would have been if James Cameron would have made it. I don't know how many of you know about the marriage and divorce of James Cameron and Linda Hamilton. Consideration must be taken into effect that if that had not happened, this movie would have been made years ago. It would have been made by Cameron and it would have been an epic conclusion to the trilogy. Now let's ask ourselves why he didn't make the movie with the exsisting script? Which doesn't even have Linda Hamilton's character in it. Well I can't answer that. I also can't answer the question of why Edward Furlong didn't reprise his role as John Conner. For some reason I'm okay with that, and I'll tell you why. The actor that took over the part (Nick Stahl) is a better actor for starters. Let's not continue this on going complaint about him. Let's say damn I wish he would have played the role in T2 Judgement Day instead of Edward Furlong. And what's up with Eddie anyway, it's not like he's flooded with movie offers these days. There really isn't any reason why the part wasn't played by him, he was even the right age. Anyway, I found the movie to be a blast. Arnold was it top terminator form, Claire Danes was good, she was givin' little time to display powerful emotions, which she delivered perfectly. And Nick Stahl which I already stated was good taking the John Conner role over. As for the action, it was pretty much non-stop, there was an action scene that lasted like 15 minutes, I'm talking about the scene early in the film that involved the distruction of about a hundred something vehicles, lots of buildings and other outdoor structures. All distroyed by Kristanna Loken at the wheel of a huge crane. As for Loken as the villainous terminator, she had all the right moves, facial expressions and voice for the part. Now let's end this.. Would I have liked James Cameron to make this movie? Sure. But he didn't and personally I'm over it now that I've seeen T3. So in closing.. I'd rather someone else make this movie than it not to have been made at all. 4 stars respectfully.

T3 had to top two of the best action movies of all time. On its own, T3 is more fun than most action flicks, but, hey, who hasn't seen T1 and T2?? Our expectations were very, very high, and T3 doesn't even come close. Yet, if you just want to enjoy an action flick, with wry humor (95% of which you'll miss without knowing what went on in T1 and T2), have a blast.

Here are some of the flaws:

After an engaging, luring first five minutes, we are shown our two naked-I-came-from-the-womb backsides shots. Honestly, the viewer sees two rears which haven't seen the treadmill in a while.

The early scene of Arnold entering the bar to get clothes caught me off guard and did not offend the majority of the viewing public with male nudity on display. The Elton John sunglasses cracked me up. The problem is that this movie is about the end of the world. While I laughed at the "inside" jokes which only us "T" junkies would pick up on, something seemed out of place with so much levity and so little plot building.

Next flaw - the crane chase scene was too long. The smash/crash seemed token. It added nothing to the plot.

Next flaw - Sarah Connor died of leukemia???? For real??? Can't we do better than that? Unless that is setting us up for T4 wherein she really didn't die, then I think that was needlessly weak. (I did note that her body was not in the coffin, and was allegedly creamated -- lie?)

Next flaw - Casting! Why no Linda Hamilton? (divorces notwithstanding). Why no Edward Furlong? Don't we want to see how our "hero" overcame troubled childhood? EF was truly a depressed "youth" who we have been rooting for since T2. Shell out the bucks and make it work!! Even the two detectives ("yo'r momma" and "afgan") could have survived T2 to revisit us in T3.

Next flaw - violence to women..... Yikes, sure she's a leather-wrapped, mean woman machine, but the scene of smashing her head into toilets makes me wonder where those politically correct police are when you need them.

Next flaw - I was so excited to see Dr. Silberman appear, and allude that he's been in therapy since T2. Cool. Yet it fizzled needlessly into a cameo! Hello director!! Anybody in there? Have you heard of sub-plots? How about tying scenes together? Fill in some holes, don't just tell us of stuff, then drop it. Why didn't the hearse run into the good doctor on their far-fetched escape scene? Carry him with us for a while. Come on, he added so much life to T1 and T2.

Next flaw - Maybe the script writer didn't think about T2, but was there no reason for T2 to leave a torn-off hand in the factory? Remember? Arnold left a hand behind which they all forgot about when he melted himself. Wasn't that the intended "flaw" of T2, to allow SkyNet to still develop these machines? T3 missed it.

Small flaw - Arnold tells us that he doesn't remember John because he's really not the same machine as in T2. But when he gets in the truck at the beginning of the movie, he flips down the visor and catches the dropping keys. Thanks for the laugh (I liked it), but Mr. Director also created a flaw by doing so.

Next flaw - Mid-movie, Arnold tells us that he must obey John's future wife (Claire Danes). Yet, prior to that she was screaming at him to let her out of the back of the truck. Again, I laughed, but it was a script screw-up.

Non-flaw - Claire Danes kept this movie afloat. She was so real to life in our 21st century. Her lines developed her character and the plot each time she spoke.

Overall flaw is that the end-of-the-world long-awaited sequel to T1 and T2 had no business not taking itself seriously.

I'll watch T3 again, and I'll buy it. But, I'll be waiting for T4. How about this title: "T4 Governor" Oh well, I think I'll go pop in T1 or T2 tonight.

If you don't like this DVD, I'd just tell you to "talk to the hand".

I'll limit my comments on the movie itself, since everybody has probably seen it by now, to saying that the "R" rating is mostly due to the fact that the terminators materialize w/o clothes. The violence itself probably isn't enough to move it past the PG rating.

The DVD does have some very well-done specail material...

The "Sgt. Candy" scene is required viewing for terminator fans - it is both amusing and answers a few lingering questions about the terminator - it probably should have been included in the movie itself. There is also an intro by Ahnold himself and a documentary that are worth viewing. There is a short, well-produced gag reel complete with music and a few effects. My favorite gag is the terminator walking through the military compund, machine gun in hand, puffing on a huge Ahnold-signature cigar. There is also an enticing preview of the T3 computer game that is enough to make one want to check it out. Other DVD featurettes and supplementing material are: visual effects segment, skynet database, terminator timeline, storyboards, dressed to kill (wardrobe featurette), toys in action (about T3 action figures), and french subtitles.

The movie I rate at 3.5 stars, the DVD package as a whole gets a 4 stars since it is so well produced. This would make a good Christmas gift for a T3 fan.

Everyone had their version of this movie in their head before it came out. The film was hardly what most expected. However, I enjoyed the film. There are upsetting reasons why this film isn't what it would have been if James Cameron would have made it. I don't know how many of you know about the marriage and divorce of James Cameron and Linda Hamilton. Consideration must be taken into effect that if that had not happened, this movie would have been made years ago. It would have been made by Cameron and it would have been an epic conclusion to the trilogy. Now let's ask ourselves why he didn't make the movie with the exsisting script? Which doesn't even have Linda Hamilton's character in it. Well I can't answer that. I also can't answer the question of why Edward Furlong didn't reprise his role as John Conner. For some reason I'm okay with that, and I'll tell you why. The actor that took over the part (Nick Stahl) is a better actor for starters. Let's not continue this on going complaint about him. Let's say damn I wish he would have played the role in T2 Judgement Day instead of Edward Furlong. And what's up with Eddie anyway, it's not like he's flooded with movie offers these days. There really isn't any reason why the part wasn't played by him, he was even the right age. Anyway, I found the movie to be a blast. Arnold was it top terminator form, Claire Danes was good, she was givin' little time to display powerful emotions, which she delivered perfectly. And Nick Stahl which I already stated was good taking the John Conner role over. As for the action, it was pretty much non-stop, there was an action scene that lasted like 15 minutes, I'm talking about the scene early in the film that involved the distruction of about a hundred something vehicles, lots of buildings and other outdoor structures. All distroyed by Kristanna Loken at the wheel of a huge crane. As for Loken as the villainous terminator, she had all the right moves, facial expressions and voice for the part. Now let's end this.. Would I have liked James Cameron to make this movie? Sure. But he didn't and personally I'm over it now that I've seeen T3. So in closing.. I'd rather someone else make this movie than it not to have been made at all. 4 stars respectfully.

T3 had to top two of the best action movies of all time. On its own, T3 is more fun than most action flicks, but, hey, who hasn't seen T1 and T2?? Our expectations were very, very high, and T3 doesn't even come close. Yet, if you just want to enjoy an action flick, with wry humor (95% of which you'll miss without knowing what went on in T1 and T2), have a blast.

Here are some of the flaws:

After an engaging, luring first five minutes, we are shown our two naked-I-came-from-the-womb backsides shots. Honestly, the viewer sees two rears which haven't seen the treadmill in a while.

The early scene of Arnold entering the bar to get clothes caught me off guard and did not offend the majority of the viewing public with male nudity on display. The Elton John sunglasses cracked me up. The problem is that this movie is about the end of the world. While I laughed at the "inside" jokes which only us "T" junkies would pick up on, something seemed out of place with so much levity and so little plot building.

Next flaw - the crane chase scene was too long. The smash/crash seemed token. It added nothing to the plot.

Next flaw - Sarah Connor died of leukemia???? For real??? Can't we do better than that? Unless that is setting us up for T4 wherein she really didn't die, then I think that was needlessly weak. (I did note that her body was not in the coffin, and was allegedly creamated -- lie?)

Next flaw - Casting! Why no Linda Hamilton? (divorces notwithstanding). Why no Edward Furlong? Don't we want to see how our "hero" overcame troubled childhood? EF was truly a depressed "youth" who we have been rooting for since T2. Shell out the bucks and make it work!! Even the two detectives ("yo'r momma" and "afgan") could have survived T2 to revisit us in T3.

Next flaw - violence to women..... Yikes, sure she's a leather-wrapped, mean woman machine, but the scene of smashing her head into toilets makes me wonder where those politically correct police are when you need them.

Next flaw - I was so excited to see Dr. Silberman appear, and allude that he's been in therapy since T2. Cool. Yet it fizzled needlessly into a cameo! Hello director!! Anybody in there? Have you heard of sub-plots? How about tying scenes together? Fill in some holes, don't just tell us of stuff, then drop it. Why didn't the hearse run into the good doctor on their far-fetched escape scene? Carry him with us for a while. Come on, he added so much life to T1 and T2.

Next flaw - Maybe the script writer didn't think about T2, but was there no reason for T2 to leave a torn-off hand in the factory? Remember? Arnold left a hand behind which they all forgot about when he melted himself. Wasn't that the intended "flaw" of T2, to allow SkyNet to still develop these machines? T3 missed it.

Small flaw - Arnold tells us that he doesn't remember John because he's really not the same machine as in T2. But when he gets in the truck at the beginning of the movie, he flips down the visor and catches the dropping keys. Thanks for the laugh (I liked it), but Mr. Director also created a flaw by doing so.

Next flaw - Mid-movie, Arnold tells us that he must obey John's future wife (Claire Danes). Yet, prior to that she was screaming at him to let her out of the back of the truck. Again, I laughed, but it was a script screw-up.

Non-flaw - Claire Danes kept this movie afloat. She was so real to life in our 21st century. Her lines developed her character and the plot each time she spoke.

Overall flaw is that the end-of-the-world long-awaited sequel to T1 and T2 had no business not taking itself seriously.

I'll watch T3 again, and I'll buy it. But, I'll be waiting for T4. How about this title: "T4 Governor" Oh well, I think I'll go pop in T1 or T2 tonight.

I think the title of this review says it all. I lost count of the historical inaccuracies after the first ten minutes! Of course, the Germans were the brutal bunglers who cheated on zeir frauleins und vipped zeir dachsunds! No really, steer well clear of this disaster. If you wish to view a TRUE account of the Battle of the Atlantic as the sailors saw it, watch "Das Boot: The Director's Cut"...or better still, the unabridged version of the same movie.

In "U-571", the green crew of an obsolete USN submarine is plucked, while in bad need of R&R, for a highly secret mission that amounts to wartime piracy. It's 1942, dark days for the allies everywhere, and especially in the battle of the north Atlantic. Detecting a distress call from the crippled German submarine U-571, damaged during an attack that sent scores of allied ships to the bottom, Washington commandeers a tired "S-Boat" - a class of American submarine already obsolete by the outset of war - and orders its crew to seize the U-boat, her crew and especially the "Enigma". Enigma refers to a actual machine used by the Kriegsmarine to decode and encode messages to and from its warships. By capturing one of the machines, the allies hope to break the German codes and learn to navigate its ships around the Nazi subs which, stealth aside, are slow and very vulnerable. Lt. Commander Dahlgren's (an unusually serious Bill Paxton) obsolete sub is needed because newer subs are conspicuously larger than the smaller U-boats. (the plan requires the S-boat to impersonate a "friendly" U-boat responding to U-571's SOS). Ofcourse, nothing goes as planned, painfully so when it looks like the plan was beginning to work. Instead, after U-571 has been seized and its Enigma recovered, the U-571's actual sister-sub appears and sinks Dahlgren's boat, crew and all. Now, the survivors, under command of Lt. Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey, also looking very severe, with a crewcut that shaves years off his life) must save U-571, learn the secret of driving the foreign sub and sail her across the Atlantic. Tyler is a whiz at subs, but he's unproven (a point Paxton's character makes when explaining why he didn't recommend him for command). Instead, he relies on Chief Klough (Harvey Keitel) to explain what "Sub School" could not. After narrowly defeating the other U-boat, Tyler and his crew settle on the slightly less impossible of their two plans - sail for England, getting as close as possible without being sighted...by anybody. On discovery of U-571's capture, the Germans are certain to modify their Enigmas, and the recovery of the sub will have been in vain. (discovery is less likely in an eastward course, even though it means sailing in waters swimming with U-boats). By the end of the flick, Tyler will have barely survived a game of "cat and mouse" with a German destroyer, and a game of "The Caine Mutiny" with his own crew.

This flick took a lot of lumps for realism stretches, though most are unearned. The film neglects to mention that the Brits recovered Enigma machines years before we Yanks. OTOH, the events of "U-571" are set about a year after the RN's daring and critical recovery of Nazi code machines and documents, so the flick isn't depicting Americans accomplishing something before England had (which would have been unlikely anyway since we weren't officially in the war at the time). Rather than re-writing history, the script merely ignores it, but that makes sense also given how under-wraps such an event would have been in wartime. A disclaimer, mentioning that Enigma machines and materials had already been recovered a year earlier would have made hash of the film's premise, in which Tyler's crew braves enemy-filled waters to preserve the secret of their recovery. Taking an unrealistic premise - Tyler and his crew assimilating the incredibly complicated and undeniably foreign ship - "U-571" works in a very realistic way, with the script showing how quick thinking and not a small amount of luck saved the day, and how narrowly Tyler and crew beat the odds. The cinematography goes even further, letting us know that, contrary to what we've seen in "Run Silent, Run Deep" and "Destination Tokyo", Submarines were cramped and dark, leaked water, were very slow, groaned under the pressure of the water above and, when surfaced, dipped and climbed on waves like a tin can. This is probably the only flick since "Das Boot" to convey just how impossible a job it was to fight in subs in WWII. It's no "Das Boot", but "U-571" now makes it impossible to watch any of those quaint and propaganda-laden movies made during the war.

Review:
Outstanding and gripping and action packed story, great script, great cinematography, fantastic performances (even by unknowns), fantastic sets, great Director's Commentary - Jonathan Mostow, (with additional cast and producer interviews), all star cast (see editors review above), great music... it just keeps going.

If you want a good solid war movie full of heroes giving their lives for the greater cause, this is it! And, if you are not a war movie fan.... it doesn't have the gruesome scenes that plague most war movies.

Story:
Early in WWII the US lost 25% of its merchant marine fleet (cargo ships) right off the Atlantic Coast. Nazi subs crushed the US efforts to support the European theater with war materials. A Nazi sub is disabled and floating in the middle of the Atlantic and it becomes a race against time to get the sub and its "enigma machine" - the coding device used to send undecipherable messages. Because of the allied shipping losses, the enigma machine is more valuable than the crew sent to collect it. Matthew McConaughey, has to confront his own weaknesses as he becomes skipper of the disabled sub when his American sub is sunk, killing his skipper ( Bill Paxton) and its crew. McConaughey is left with a handful of crew members, and a captured German crewman.

The story brings to life the reality and pain of decisions that must be made for the "greater good" during war, and unusual circumstances.

Really everything in the movie and the DVD was great, making this a very exceptional DVD movie.

Negatives:
Absolutely none! (Unless you don't like war movies).

I think the title of this review says it all. I lost count of the historical inaccuracies after the first ten minutes! Of course, the Germans were the brutal bunglers who cheated on zeir frauleins und vipped zeir dachsunds! No really, steer well clear of this disaster. If you wish to view a TRUE account of the Battle of the Atlantic as the sailors saw it, watch "Das Boot: The Director's Cut"...or better still, the unabridged version of the same movie.

In "U-571", the green crew of an obsolete USN submarine is plucked, while in bad need of R&R, for a highly secret mission that amounts to wartime piracy. It's 1942, dark days for the allies everywhere, and especially in the battle of the north Atlantic. Detecting a distress call from the crippled German submarine U-571, damaged during an attack that sent scores of allied ships to the bottom, Washington commandeers a tired "S-Boat" - a class of American submarine already obsolete by the outset of war - and orders its crew to seize the U-boat, her crew and especially the "Enigma". Enigma refers to a actual machine used by the Kriegsmarine to decode and encode messages to and from its warships. By capturing one of the machines, the allies hope to break the German codes and learn to navigate its ships around the Nazi subs which, stealth aside, are slow and very vulnerable. Lt. Commander Dahlgren's (an unusually serious Bill Paxton) obsolete sub is needed because newer subs are conspicuously larger than the smaller U-boats. (the plan requires the S-boat to impersonate a "friendly" U-boat responding to U-571's SOS). Ofcourse, nothing goes as planned, painfully so when it looks like the plan was beginning to work. Instead, after U-571 has been seized and its Enigma recovered, the U-571's actual sister-sub appears and sinks Dahlgren's boat, crew and all. Now, the survivors, under command of Lt. Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey, also looking very severe, with a crewcut that shaves years off his life) must save U-571, learn the secret of driving the foreign sub and sail her across the Atlantic. Tyler is a whiz at subs, but he's unproven (a point Paxton's character makes when explaining why he didn't recommend him for command). Instead, he relies on Chief Klough (Harvey Keitel) to explain what "Sub School" could not. After narrowly defeating the other U-boat, Tyler and his crew settle on the slightly less impossible of their two plans - sail for England, getting as close as possible without being sighted...by anybody. On discovery of U-571's capture, the Germans are certain to modify their Enigmas, and the recovery of the sub will have been in vain. (discovery is less likely in an eastward course, even though it means sailing in waters swimming with U-boats). By the end of the flick, Tyler will have barely survived a game of "cat and mouse" with a German destroyer, and a game of "The Caine Mutiny" with his own crew.

This flick took a lot of lumps for realism stretches, though most are unearned. The film neglects to mention that the Brits recovered Enigma machines years before we Yanks. OTOH, the events of "U-571" are set about a year after the RN's daring and critical recovery of Nazi code machines and documents, so the flick isn't depicting Americans accomplishing something before England had (which would have been unlikely anyway since we weren't officially in the war at the time). Rather than re-writing history, the script merely ignores it, but that makes sense also given how under-wraps such an event would have been in wartime. A disclaimer, mentioning that Enigma machines and materials had already been recovered a year earlier would have made hash of the film's premise, in which Tyler's crew braves enemy-filled waters to preserve the secret of their recovery. Taking an unrealistic premise - Tyler and his crew assimilating the incredibly complicated and undeniably foreign ship - "U-571" works in a very realistic way, with the script showing how quick thinking and not a small amount of luck saved the day, and how narrowly Tyler and crew beat the odds. The cinematography goes even further, letting us know that, contrary to what we've seen in "Run Silent, Run Deep" and "Destination Tokyo", Submarines were cramped and dark, leaked water, were very slow, groaned under the pressure of the water above and, when surfaced, dipped and climbed on waves like a tin can. This is probably the only flick since "Das Boot" to convey just how impossible a job it was to fight in subs in WWII. It's no "Das Boot", but "U-571" now makes it impossible to watch any of those quaint and propaganda-laden movies made during the war.

Review:
Outstanding and gripping and action packed story, great script, great cinematography, fantastic performances (even by unknowns), fantastic sets, great Director's Commentary - Jonathan Mostow, (with additional cast and producer interviews), all star cast (see editors review above), great music... it just keeps going.

If you want a good solid war movie full of heroes giving their lives for the greater cause, this is it! And, if you are not a war movie fan.... it doesn't have the gruesome scenes that plague most war movies.

Story:
Early in WWII the US lost 25% of its merchant marine fleet (cargo ships) right off the Atlantic Coast. Nazi subs crushed the US efforts to support the European theater with war materials. A Nazi sub is disabled and floating in the middle of the Atlantic and it becomes a race against time to get the sub and its "enigma machine" - the coding device used to send undecipherable messages. Because of the allied shipping losses, the enigma machine is more valuable than the crew sent to collect it. Matthew McConaughey, has to confront his own weaknesses as he becomes skipper of the disabled sub when his American sub is sunk, killing his skipper ( Bill Paxton) and its crew. McConaughey is left with a handful of crew members, and a captured German crewman.

The story brings to life the reality and pain of decisions that must be made for the "greater good" during war, and unusual circumstances.

Really everything in the movie and the DVD was great, making this a very exceptional DVD movie.

Negatives:
Absolutely none! (Unless you don't like war movies).

I think the title of this review says it all. I lost count of the historical inaccuracies after the first ten minutes! Of course, the Germans were the brutal bunglers who cheated on zeir frauleins und vipped zeir dachsunds! No really, steer well clear of this disaster. If you wish to view a TRUE account of the Battle of the Atlantic as the sailors saw it, watch "Das Boot: The Director's Cut"...or better still, the unabridged version of the same movie.

In "U-571", the green crew of an obsolete USN submarine is plucked, while in bad need of R&R, for a highly secret mission that amounts to wartime piracy. It's 1942, dark days for the allies everywhere, and especially in the battle of the north Atlantic. Detecting a distress call from the crippled German submarine U-571, damaged during an attack that sent scores of allied ships to the bottom, Washington commandeers a tired "S-Boat" - a class of American submarine already obsolete by the outset of war - and orders its crew to seize the U-boat, her crew and especially the "Enigma". Enigma refers to a actual machine used by the Kriegsmarine to decode and encode messages to and from its warships. By capturing one of the machines, the allies hope to break the German codes and learn to navigate its ships around the Nazi subs which, stealth aside, are slow and very vulnerable. Lt. Commander Dahlgren's (an unusually serious Bill Paxton) obsolete sub is needed because newer subs are conspicuously larger than the smaller U-boats. (the plan requires the S-boat to impersonate a "friendly" U-boat responding to U-571's SOS). Ofcourse, nothing goes as planned, painfully so when it looks like the plan was beginning to work. Instead, after U-571 has been seized and its Enigma recovered, the U-571's actual sister-sub appears and sinks Dahlgren's boat, crew and all. Now, the survivors, under command of Lt. Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey, also looking very severe, with a crewcut that shaves years off his life) must save U-571, learn the secret of driving the foreign sub and sail her across the Atlantic. Tyler is a whiz at subs, but he's unproven (a point Paxton's character makes when explaining why he didn't recommend him for command). Instead, he relies on Chief Klough (Harvey Keitel) to explain what "Sub School" could not. After narrowly defeating the other U-boat, Tyler and his crew settle on the slightly less impossible of their two plans - sail for England, getting as close as possible without being sighted...by anybody. On discovery of U-571's capture, the Germans are certain to modify their Enigmas, and the recovery of the sub will have been in vain. (discovery is less likely in an eastward course, even though it means sailing in waters swimming with U-boats). By the end of the flick, Tyler will have barely survived a game of "cat and mouse" with a German destroyer, and a game of "The Caine Mutiny" with his own crew.

This flick took a lot of lumps for realism stretches, though most are unearned. The film neglects to mention that the Brits recovered Enigma machines years before we Yanks. OTOH, the events of "U-571" are set about a year after the RN's daring and critical recovery of Nazi code machines and documents, so the flick isn't depicting Americans accomplishing something before England had (which would have been unlikely anyway since we weren't officially in the war at the time). Rather than re-writing history, the script merely ignores it, but that makes sense also given how under-wraps such an event would have been in wartime. A disclaimer, mentioning that Enigma machines and materials had already been recovered a year earlier would have made hash of the film's premise, in which Tyler's crew braves enemy-filled waters to preserve the secret of their recovery. Taking an unrealistic premise - Tyler and his crew assimilating the incredibly complicated and undeniably foreign ship - "U-571" works in a very realistic way, with the script showing how quick thinking and not a small amount of luck saved the day, and how narrowly Tyler and crew beat the odds. The cinematography goes even further, letting us know that, contrary to what we've seen in "Run Silent, Run Deep" and "Destination Tokyo", Submarines were cramped and dark, leaked water, were very slow, groaned under the pressure of the water above and, when surfaced, dipped and climbed on waves like a tin can. This is probably the only flick since "Das Boot" to convey just how impossible a job it was to fight in subs in WWII. It's no "Das Boot", but "U-571" now makes it impossible to watch any of those quaint and propaganda-laden movies made during the war.

Review:
Outstanding and gripping and action packed story, great script, great cinematography, fantastic performances (even by unknowns), fantastic sets, great Director's Commentary - Jonathan Mostow, (with additional cast and producer interviews), all star cast (see editors review above), great music... it just keeps going.

If you want a good solid war movie full of heroes giving their lives for the greater cause, this is it! And, if you are not a war movie fan.... it doesn't have the gruesome scenes that plague most war movies.

Story:
Early in WWII the US lost 25% of its merchant marine fleet (cargo ships) right off the Atlantic Coast. Nazi subs crushed the US efforts to support the European theater with war materials. A Nazi sub is disabled and floating in the middle of the Atlantic and it becomes a race against time to get the sub and its "enigma machine" - the coding device used to send undecipherable messages. Because of the allied shipping losses, the enigma machine is more valuable than the crew sent to collect it. Matthew McConaughey, has to confront his own weaknesses as he becomes skipper of the disabled sub when his American sub is sunk, killing his skipper ( Bill Paxton) and its crew. McConaughey is left with a handful of crew members, and a captured German crewman.

The story brings to life the reality and pain of decisions that must be made for the "greater good" during war, and unusual circumstances.

Really everything in the movie and the DVD was great, making this a very exceptional DVD movie.

Negatives:
Absolutely none! (Unless you don't like war movies).

I think the title of this review says it all. I lost count of the historical inaccuracies after the first ten minutes! Of course, the Germans were the brutal bunglers who cheated on zeir frauleins und vipped zeir dachsunds! No really, steer well clear of this disaster. If you wish to view a TRUE account of the Battle of the Atlantic as the sailors saw it, watch "Das Boot: The Director's Cut"...or better still, the unabridged version of the same movie.

In "U-571", the green crew of an obsolete USN submarine is plucked, while in bad need of R&R, for a highly secret mission that amounts to wartime piracy. It's 1942, dark days for the allies everywhere, and especially in the battle of the north Atlantic. Detecting a distress call from the crippled German submarine U-571, damaged during an attack that sent scores of allied ships to the bottom, Washington commandeers a tired "S-Boat" - a class of American submarine already obsolete by the outset of war - and orders its crew to seize the U-boat, her crew and especially the "Enigma". Enigma refers to a actual machine used by the Kriegsmarine to decode and encode messages to and from its warships. By capturing one of the machines, the allies hope to break the German codes and learn to navigate its ships around the Nazi subs which, stealth aside, are slow and very vulnerable. Lt. Commander Dahlgren's (an unusually serious Bill Paxton) obsolete sub is needed because newer subs are conspicuously larger than the smaller U-boats. (the plan requires the S-boat to impersonate a "friendly" U-boat responding to U-571's SOS). Ofcourse, nothing goes as planned, painfully so when it looks like the plan was beginning to work. Instead, after U-571 has been seized and its Enigma recovered, the U-571's actual sister-sub appears and sinks Dahlgren's boat, crew and all. Now, the survivors, under command of Lt. Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey, also looking very severe, with a crewcut that shaves years off his life) must save U-571, learn the secret of driving the foreign sub and sail her across the Atlantic. Tyler is a whiz at subs, but he's unproven (a point Paxton's character makes when explaining why he didn't recommend him for command). Instead, he relies on Chief Klough (Harvey Keitel) to explain what "Sub School" could not. After narrowly defeating the other U-boat, Tyler and his crew settle on the slightly less impossible of their two plans - sail for England, getting as close as possible without being sighted...by anybody. On discovery of U-571's capture, the Germans are certain to modify their Enigmas, and the recovery of the sub will have been in vain. (discovery is less likely in an eastward course, even though it means sailing in waters swimming with U-boats). By the end of the flick, Tyler will have barely survived a game of "cat and mouse" with a German destroyer, and a game of "The Caine Mutiny" with his own crew.

This flick took a lot of lumps for realism stretches, though most are unearned. The film neglects to mention that the Brits recovered Enigma machines years before we Yanks. OTOH, the events of "U-571" are set about a year after the RN's daring and critical recovery of Nazi code machines and documents, so the flick isn't depicting Americans accomplishing something before England had (which would have been unlikely anyway since we weren't officially in the war at the time). Rather than re-writing history, the script merely ignores it, but that makes sense also given how under-wraps such an event would have been in wartime. A disclaimer, mentioning that Enigma machines and materials had already been recovered a year earlier would have made hash of the film's premise, in which Tyler's crew braves enemy-filled waters to preserve the secret of their recovery. Taking an unrealistic premise - Tyler and his crew assimilating the incredibly complicated and undeniably foreign ship - "U-571" works in a very realistic way, with the script showing how quick thinking and not a small amount of luck saved the day, and how narrowly Tyler and crew beat the odds. The cinematography goes even further, letting us know that, contrary to what we've seen in "Run Silent, Run Deep" and "Destination Tokyo", Submarines were cramped and dark, leaked water, were very slow, groaned under the pressure of the water above and, when surfaced, dipped and climbed on waves like a tin can. This is probably the only flick since "Das Boot" to convey just how impossible a job it was to fight in subs in WWII. It's no "Das Boot", but "U-571" now makes it impossible to watch any of those quaint and propaganda-laden movies made during the war.

Review:
Outstanding and gripping and action packed story, great script, great cinematography, fantastic performances (even by unknowns), fantastic sets, great Director's Commentary - Jonathan Mostow, (with additional cast and producer interviews), all star cast (see editors review above), great music... it just keeps going.

If you want a good solid war movie full of heroes giving their lives for the greater cause, this is it! And, if you are not a war movie fan.... it doesn't have the gruesome scenes that plague most war movies.

Story:
Early in WWII the US lost 25% of its merchant marine fleet (cargo ships) right off the Atlantic Coast. Nazi subs crushed the US efforts to support the European theater with war materials. A Nazi sub is disabled and floating in the middle of the Atlantic and it becomes a race against time to get the sub and its "enigma machine" - the coding device used to send undecipherable messages. Because of the allied shipping losses, the enigma machine is more valuable than the crew sent to collect it. Matthew McConaughey, has to confront his own weaknesses as he becomes skipper of the disabled sub when his American sub is sunk, killing his skipper ( Bill Paxton) and its crew. McConaughey is left with a handful of crew members, and a captured German crewman.

The story brings to life the reality and pain of decisions that must be made for the "greater good" during war, and unusual circumstances.

Really everything in the movie and the DVD was great, making this a very exceptional DVD movie.

Negatives:
Absolutely none! (Unless you don't like war movies).

Be forewarned: this movie has disturbing suicide images and the plot delves into severely disfunctional families in a cliched, purposeful manner. Action scenes were mediocre, storyline was bizarre, acting was poor. An all-round let down.

I never knew this movie existed until I saw it the other day. I was surprised how good it was. It was much better than most of Air Force movies I've seen. It didn't have any of the sappy, romantic scenes in it that usually (and unbearably) bog action films down. It was pure action with an intriguing plot. This was very worthy movie!

I never new this movie existed till i saw it. It is action packed and if you like nukes you will love this movie. Even Dave loved this movies so much that he had to buy it!