Alicia Veliz – Guest Writer
Greyhound is an American war movie based on the 1955 fictional novel The Good Shepherd written by C.S. Forester. Although fictional, the book is deeply researched and noted for its accurate depiction of naval warfare. However, it is based on a very real-World War 2 event known as The Battle of the Atlantic. This happens to be the longest, largest, and most complex Naval battle in history. It lasted just over 5 years.
Back then during the war, Britain needed tons of imported supplies in order to not only keep the country going, but also to aid the British troops to keep fighting. It became a very desperate struggle for the Allied to protect merchant ships loaded with the necessary supplies from being sunk by the German U-boats. Basically, it involved a military strategy known as tonnage war which was being used by the Germans. Over 70,000 lives were lost both on Naval ships and merchant ships.
Now, that the History lesson is over let us get into the movie! Tom Hanks delivers once again in another military-styled movie. It tends to be his forte in my opinion. Of course, being a well-seasoned, veteran actor does help it along. One word of warning though, we have to remember what type of movie this is. If you hear a lot of co-ordinates being shouted and naval terms, that’s to be expected.
Another thing people, do not take your eyes off the screen. In order for you to appreciate the tense atmosphere that’s being created you need to observe all. There are simple little actions or events that occur on the screen that may not seem significant but then you realize that they eventually do play a part in closing together the seams. Without giving away too much, I can tell you that there were a few scenes that really gets the heart thumping. Note that there is a very intricate naval maneuver that is used that literally has you on the edge of your seat because you get a decent overhead shot of the vessel and when you see how close things come to being very dire….Whew!!!
I cannot mention these other scenes that stuck with me without giving a little SPOILER ALERT here. So be warned. Basically, the Nazis in the U-boats get very cocky at one point and literally start taunting Hanks character. It made my skin crawl to hear it. The audacity of it all. But that’s war I suppose. You taunt the enemy and you play mind games to get them to make an extremely dangerous mistake that would work in your favor.
All in all, it’s a brilliant movie that shows the dedication of the US Navy and Royal Navy during those harrowing times of World War II. It keeps us educated and teaches us that we need to respect those who have been there and what they have been through. If they did not keep up the fight, God alone knows how much more badly things could have turned out for us.
Rating: 9 out of 10
For my Quick Bite review of World War II drama Resistance you can click here.