Greyhound (2020)

This film was mooted a long while back by Sony, and, as someone who for some reason finds submarines fascinating, the premise sounded right up my street, especially with Tom Hanks taking the lead role. Eventually, somewhat inevitably, Greyhound's original cinema release had to be put to one side in favour of an exclusive Apple TV+ release. It's a shame, because Greyhound is a really impressive spectacle, the constant action sequences are fantastically shot, exciting, and breathless. Hank's Navy commander is tasked with leading an allied convey across the Atlantic, a journey that was made many times by the allies during WWII. The frequent crossing was a perilous one, conveys were constantly attacked by German U-Boats, and this is, naturally what happens here. Any submarine based film will probably, for the rest of time have the enormous shadow of Das Boot (1981) looming large over it (the 4 hour 53 minute version, of course, NOT the directors cut). At a mere 90 minutes, Greyhound falls some way short of the epic feel of Das Boot, or indeed the almost unbearable claustrophobic tension; but it is hugely enjoyable, very well acted, with some excellent action set pieces. It's a real shame we didn't get the chance to view this on the big screen. 7.2/10