Apple hits the target with Tom Hanks’ Greyhound, its first major streaming film. Here’s my review and recommendations for naval epic genre fans.
GREYHOUND
(Dir: Aaron Schneider | Time: 1h31mins | On: Apple TV+)
Tom Hanks’ latest, which he also wrote, is unashamedly lean and action-packed – and it works an absolute treat for genre fans. It covers in just 90 minutes an epic World War II mid-Atlantic battle between a U-boat wolfpack and a vital Allied supply convoy guarded by US and British battleships.
There isn’t much time for character development. But with everybody’s favourite talismanic but human captain at the helm of the Greyhound, and the always-reliable Stephen Graham pulling a solid shift as his number 2, it’s barely needed.
Wisely, we instead get to focus on a tense, relentless and expertly-choreographed punch-and-counterpunch naval scrap that manages to both thrill and feel realistic, thanks to well-judged use of CGI and technical dialogue.
Also boasting an excellent score, Greyhound will have you longing for your local theatre’s big screen and surround sound. But at the moment I’m grateful for any quasi-cinematic experiences.
Verdict: 8/10
***
If you enjoy this, make it 3xFILMS with these:
MASTER AND COMMANDER (2003) / Based on a series of novels set in the Napoleonic Wars, this more expansive and character-driven naval action epic should have spawned a franchise for Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, who were great as the ship’s captain-doctor duo.
Rotten Tomatoes 85% | On Hulu
ENIGMA (2001) / Though it plays fast and loose with historical details, this gripping low-key espionage thriller at least gives Britain’s intelligence services their dues in the breaking of the Germans’ cipher system, which gave the Allies a game-changing boost in the costly fight against U-boats in the Atlantic.
Rotten Tomatoes 72%
MS