NOW STREAMING: Greyhound (2020)

                I had been waiting for this movie for a couple of years.  I heard about it early because they filmed on the USS Kidd which is a floating museum in Baton Rouge, La.  I have been on the ship numerous times and have even slept on board several times.  Those overnites were with my History Club.  It was always a great experience, other than worrying about what those teenagers might be getting into.  Sleeping in a berth on a warship is something every war movie fan should have on their bucket list. 

                It took longer to see the film than I anticipated.  It’s release was delayed by the pandemic and the studio ended up deciding to junk the theatrical opening and go straight to streaming.  It just so happened that the new Apple + TV was hoping to get attention in the crowded streaming market and it bought the film for $70 million (the movie cost $50 million).  I bet Apple is praying people like me go beyond the free trial.  The movie was directed by Aaron Schneider (his second feature film), but I would guess he deferred to star Tom Hanks.  Hanks wrote the screenplay based on the novel The Good Shepherd by C.S. Forester.

                The movie opens with some quotes from Churchill and FDR to set the stage.  The U.S. Navy is helping escort troop and supply ships across the Atlantic.  The convoys are most vulnerable when they are transiting the “Black Pit” which refers to the area in the North Atlantic where there is no air cover.  The USS Keeling (code-named Greyhound) leads a group of four destroyers that are escorting a 37-ship convoy to Liverpool.  Commander Krausse (Hanks) is new to the ship and this will be his first escort mission.  The movie jumps straight into the “Black Pit” and it does not take long for things to heat up.  For the next two days, it will be a cat and mouse game with a wolfpack of German u-boats.  The Keeling is in the thick of the fight and by the time it reaches air cover again it will run the gamut of experiences a destroyer might have in the Battle of the Atlantic.

                There is a thriving subgenre of submarine movies, but few movies from above the surface.  “Greyhound” differs from the similar “The Enemy Below” because it focuses just on the destroyer.  In fact, other than a flashback to Krause proposing to his girlfriend (Elisabeth Shue) which seemed to be thrown in to get a female on the poster, the movie takes place only on the Keeling.  Clocking in at a tidy 91 minutes, the movie eschews character development in favor of almost nonstop action.  Even Krausse is a cipher, although we learn he is religious and a cool customer.  It may be his first escort mission, but he knows his craft.  The movie does not have time for the usual clichés.  The crew does not side eye their new captain.  He does not have to earn their respect.  There is a brief head-scratching moment, but it quickly turns out that Krausse is a u-boat killer.  There is no dysfunction as Krausse’s exec Lt. Commander Cole (the reliable Stephen Graham) is loyal and competent.  In fact, the whole crew performs well.  Hanks’ screenplay makes a point of sub-plotting an African-American messmate, but there is little time to develop anyone.  Hanks and the Greyhound dominate.

                In lieu of character development, the movie concentrates on action.  It helps if you are knowledgeable about WWII submarine warfare and nautical terminology.  The dialogue is heavy on jargon and is not dumbed down for a mass audience.  Kudos to screenwriter Hanks for doing his research.  I had to do a lot of translating for my wife (ex. starboard is right and port is left).  Hanks throws in some cryptic quotes, but the most creative dialogue comes from a u-boat captain that taunts Krausse.  It’s a bit cheesy and unrealistic, but fun and reminiscent of an earlier style of war movie and adds that “USA! USA!” emotion.  The action is a buffet as we see a variety of combat, but if you know anything about the ferocity of wolfpack attacks, the movie does not steer into outrageous.  It all could have happened, just not to one destroyer on one mission.  Hey, it’s a movie.  

                 The CGI is not a problem.  I was not distracted by it.  It helps that a real Fletcher-class destroyer was used for the interiors and exteriors.  Actually, the CGI was mainly used to create the horrific North Atlantic climate conditions the convoys had to battle.  This was no pleasure cruise, u-boats or not.  Besides giving the recliner-sailing audience a feel for the conditions, the movie is an excellent tutorial on anti-submarine tactics.  And a nice homage to the men who risked their lives escorting convoys.  I hope some of the veterans of WWII tin cans get to see it in the museum theater at the USS Kidd memorial.  By the way, the Royal Navy gets its due and there should be no complaining like with “U-571”.

                The year 2020 really sucks, but it has actually been a pretty good year for war movies.  Just in the last week I have seen “The Outpost” and this movie.  And I didn’t have to go to a theater.  Same could be said for the excellent “Danger Close” and the better-than-expected “Da 5 Bloods”.  “Greyhound” is only the third best of that quartet, but it is still a must-see for war movie fans.  This movie has no frills.    It probably should have been longer to allow for fleshing out of the characters, but it is refreshing to see a movie that concentrates on the warfare aspect of a war movie without going the combat porn route.  Get that free trial.  Plus Apple TV + has some other good war movies you can watch in a week.

GRADE = A

CLASSIC or ANTIQUE? Destroyer (1943)

                “Destroyer” is the story of a WWII destroyer from construction to combat.  The movie was made with the cooperation of the Navy which provided the U.S. Destroyer Base and the U.S. Naval Training Station at San Diego.  It also provided the Benson class USS Hobby.  The movie was meant to be an homage to the “Tin Cans” that were the “busybodies of the Fleet.  Always looking for trouble and generally finding it.”  The technical adviser was Lt. Commander Donald Smith.  He had been Navigation Officer on the USS Arizona until one month before the attack.  The director was William Seiter who made a boat-load of B-movies like “Four Jills in a Jeep”.  The star, Edgar G. Robinson, served in the Navy in WWI.

                Retired Chief Bosun’s Mate “Boley” Boleslavski (Edgar G. Robinson) is helping construct the new USS John Paul Jones.  He is fired up about this and insists on perfection from his fellow workers because he served on the original ship in WWI.  He is an old salt who says things like:  “Ships are like women, you call them she… Stubborn, tricky, temperamental at times.”  When the ship is launched, the movie is over.  Just kidding.  Boley reenlists and the captain of the new JPJ allows him to talk him into putting him in his old job. This is perturbing to the current chief.  Mickey Donohue (Glenn Ford) is resentful of the old geezer.  “Your first trip to the mast was for having a bow and arrow.”  Donohue is not the only one who will have to warm to Boley.  He is a hardass that refuses to admit that the modern navy has passed him by.  He has disdain for the youngsters, including Donahue.  Plus, he is not current on the workings of the ship. When the Captain counsels him to dial it down and try an occasional pat on the back, Boley responds with “I prefer it lower down.”  As though the dysfunction factor with Donohue and the crew is not high enough, Donohue starts courting Boley’s daughter.  Boley becomes something of a Jonah as the ship is a lemon.  Both Boley and the John Paul Jones will be in need of redemption.

                “Destroyer” is surprisingly good.  It is not the propaganda piece you would expect considering when it was made and considering the cooperation of the Navy.  The Navy vetted the film, but obviously the shipyard didn’t.  It’s not all Boley’s fault – the ship is poorly built.  Apparently Boley’s construction comrades were not as patriotic as he was.  It’s all good in the end, of course.  In fact, the redemption of the ship comes in a final act that is full of action.  There is a duel with some Japanese dive and torpedo bombers (actually played by Douglas SBDs and Grumman Avengers), followed by a cat and mouse with a sub.  It’s all silly tactically, but fun.

                Once you get past the ridiculous machinations to get construction worker Boley onto the rebirth of his WWI ship, the plot is serviceable.  The speechifying is kept to a minimum and the one big speech by Boley about the USS Bonhomme Richard (John Paul Jones’ ship that defeated the HMS Serapis) is surprisingly rousing and instructive.  (One caveat,  Jones’ USS Ranger defeated the HMS Drake one year earlier.  The actual first American victory was the Lexington over the Edward.)  The acting is decent with Ford stealing the show with his brash, wolfish Donohue.  He gets some good barbs and the dialogue in general is fine.  The romance, however, is perfunctory and does little for the film.

                Classic or antique?  Neither.  But it’s worth the watch if you like destroyers and want to kill some time.

GRADE  =  C+