FilmSnobReviews

Title: Greyhound
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Aaron Schneider
Starring: Tom Hanks, Elisabeth Shue, Stephen Graham
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

What It Is: Captain Krause (Hanks) is a veteran seaman commanding his first vessel. His command is responsible for being a convoy for a bevy of Allied ships. As he’s trying to get this convoy through he is attacked by a German submarine wolf pack. Now with the help of his crew and the love of his wife, he’ll fight to stay alive and keep safe the ships he’s trying to help out. Will they go gently into that good night?

What We Think: Tom Hanks is his normal brilliant self here. Sadly the direction is lifeless and strands the picture as a whole at sea. Yeah, I made a boat reference…sue me. While it all looks wonderful thanks solely to Shelly Johnson’s cinematography. Hanks’ only mistake is his adaptation. You see he wrote the script and perhaps C.S. Forester’s words worked better on the page then they do here. I feel as though this was a showcase piece for Apple’s streaming service but it instead feels flat. Something comparable to this would be another seafaring disappointment with In the Heart of the Sea.

Our Grade: C, This is a mediocre film that had aspirations of greatness and just never got there. If I’m being perfectly fair I think that expectations hurt this one. You’re going to give me a World War II movie written and starring Tom Hanks. There’s definitely going to be some expectations. Sadly as I said there’s just not enough here to grip you and keep you interested. Schneider waited over a decade to direct another picture. His last film Get Low. A lovely one that many missed, here he just doesn’t have enough to make this work.