Director: Aaron Schneider
Starring: Tom Hanks, Stephen Graham, Rob Morgan
Year: 2020
A few years ago when AppleTV was new, we had Greyhound, a Tom Hanks WWII movie that only a few people could watch. I remember that striking me as odd, but now that’s the way of it, with streaming services dominating our TVs, vying with each other for our attention and our money. Greyhound, apart from that, is a very simple war film with a very simple script and premise. It’s worth a finite amount, has a definite ceiling, and will be a favorite of dad’s in slippers everywhere, as the war biographies they read come to life before their very eyes, and with their favorite actor das boot.
This is the fictional story of one of many real crossings of the Atlantic during the early years of America’s involvement in WWII. Much needed supplies and men were shipped across the ocean from the US to Britain, with a stretch in the middle that was not accessible by antisubmarine aircraft, making ships in that “black pit” an easy target for German U-boats, the subs forming deadly “wolf packs.” It was the military’s job to shepherd the supply and cargo ships across the passage, defending them against enemy attack. This is a tale of one such mission, where a Captain must protect his soldiers, his assignment, and himself, from the elements, the enemy, and crippling fear.
From a military history perspective, Greyhound is an incredible dive into warfare that we don’t hear much about, even though Hollywood loves WWII; this isn’t the war theatre we usually focus on. The Battle of the Atlantic is fascinating, and this tiny fictional piece is a great slice of history opened wide just for us. From a film perspective, you can tell that Hanks himself wrote the screenplay; its low quality is only surpassed by its high cheesiness. It’s very religious, patriotic, hoo-rah, and so so corny, especially at the end, when you have trouble understanding that they really just made that story choice and are dragging it on that long. Still, I am a dad who loves old man slippers, Hanks, and WWII encyclopedias, so this is a movie that’s right up my alley; as a critic, I simply have to point out that’s it’s written terribly.
My rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆