GREYHOUND (2020) – My rating: 7.5/10

Greyhound is a war film directed by Aaron Schneider. The screenplay is written by Tom Hanks, and the film is based on the 1955 novel The Good Shepherd by C. S. Forester. The story follows a commander in the US Navy on his first wartime assignment. Greyhound is a worthwhile film that will heat your blood to the boiling point as the commander makes life or death decisions at a minute’s notice. Greyhound is a worthy movie and I’m glad I got to see it.

Commander Ernest Krause (Tom Hanks) is the commanding officer of the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Keeling, codenamed “Greyhound”.  Krause is now in command of a multi-national escort group defending a merchant ship convoy that is under attack by submarines in early-1942.  This event takes place during the Battle of the Atlantic, only months after the U.S. officially enters World War II. During the Battle of the Atlantic, convoy HX-25, consisting of 37 Allied ships, is making its way to Liverpool. The convoy also consists of the British Tribal-class destroyer, HMS James, call sign “Harry”, the Polish Grom-class destroyer, ORP Viktor (with a Royal Navy liaison officer on the radio), call sign “Eagle”, and the Canadian Flower-class corvette, HMCS Dodge, call sign “Dicky”. Krause is serving as overall commander of the escort ships, but despite his seniority and extensive naval education, it was his first wartime command.

The convoy enters the “Black Pit”— the Mid-Atlantic gap where they will be out of range of protective air cover. While they are still three days away from the resumption of air cover, high-frequency direction finding from the convoy flagship results in the interception of several German transmissions, indicating the presence of U-boats. Greyhound’s radar operator identifies a surfaced subheading towards the convoy. Greyhound moves away from the convoy to intercept it based on its bearing and gets the U-boat within firing range, but the heavy seas allow the U-boat to dive before Greyhound can get a visual. After sonar contact is re-established, the submarine tries to slip under Greyhound, but Krause maneuvers his ship above the U-boat and fires a full pattern of depth charges, resulting in his first kill. The crew’s jubilation is cut short as they soon receive reports of distress rockets at the rear of the convoy. A Greek merchant ship was attacked by another U-boat and is quickly sinking.

Greyhound is probably not for everyone but if you are a war buff or just find these types of war flicks interesting, you’ll love this movie.  The complicated maneuvers orchestrated by Commander Krause were extraordinary and exciting.  Greyhound shows us that an officer who achieves that position is not to be taken for granted and it’s not a job that just anyone can do.  You will have to see the movie to understand what is happening to the crew, the commander, and the battleships.  Greyhound is an exciting movie with great special effects.  On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 78% based on 223 reviews, with an average rating of 6.50/10. The website’s critic’s consensus reads: “Greyhound‘s characters aren’t as robust as its action sequences, but this fast-paced World War II thriller benefits from its efficiently economical approach.” I recommend Greyhound which is streaming on Apple TV+ — Check It Out!

[GREYHOUND is Oscar-nominated at the 93rd Academy Awards for Best Sound — Totaling 1 Nomination]