While much of the movie Greyhound is in fact inspired by the Battle of the Atlantic that took place from 1939 to 1945 the actual events in the movie are based on the book The Good Shepherd by C.S. Forester. So far it looks as though the two are bound to collide in a well-written and masterfully-filmed project that will be showing the crossing of the Atlantic by a convoy of 37 ships filled with Allied troops, all of whom are being hunted by wolf packs of German U-boats. For any historians out there the realization of just how deadly a pack of U-boats could be to vessels on the surface is great enough to think that, if done correctly, this could be one of the great movies of the year since not only are action sequences on this scale well-liked, but Tom Hanks is still a massive draw on the big screen as he’s been for so long. Plus, war movies are almost always a lock as long as they’re done in an accurate and meticulous manner but are still filled with enough action and drama to make them agreeable to the audience. With Tom Hanks at the helm though it’s even more likely since he’s already proven that he has the kind of qualities that are needed in this kind of a movie thanks to Saving Private Ryan. It’s likely that if there are any that know their history and have been around long enough to have heard the stories, or possibly been around when this even took place, and so it’s not too far-fetched to think that we might hear either praise or a bit of criticism when it comes to Hanks’ take on events. Christopher Weston of HITC has more to say in his own words about the movie.
There is another element at play when movies are made at sea since there’s a definite danger that rests all around the characters considering that humans have learned how to explore and travel by sea but surviving the rigors of life at sea, even for a matter of days or weeks, or months in some cases, is still a test of one’s fortitude. Doing so while at war is even more difficult as many sailors would likely attest to since the terrain is always treacherous even when calm and the fact that U-boats were notorious for sinking many upon many ships during the war the added danger was that a ship might not have much warning before they were under attack by an entire pack of subs that were bent on goal, sinking as many ships as they could while taking minimal losses to their own numbers. Combat on the open ocean is no longer what it used to be thanks to the technology available, and if one takes a look at the various vessels used in WWII they’ll find that many of them, however solidly built, didn’t last long against a barrage of fire coming from an enemy, as hulls could rupture quite easily depending on how each ship was attacked. Naval warfare is something that has to be as meticulous as possible or it comes off looking quite cheesy and not at all real. So far in the trailer it looks as though Hanks and many of those working to make this into yet another Oscar-worthy movie have done what they could to make certain that the movie will be accepted as well as appreciated by those that will be watching it. One has to wonder if any veterans from the WWII era will be sitting down to watch or if those long ago days will bring back memories they’d rather do without. It’s too easy to think that such memories, if they do surface, are rather powerful for those that were actually involved in similar engagements as this movie shows, and if they’ll be able to handle them while watching the movie. Keep in mind that some veterans have had to walk out of war movies due to the content being too realistic.
Greyhound already looks as though it will be a pulse-pounding thrill that will draw people in and show them how well Hanks can take command as he’s done before, but it will also bring him back to form as he’ll be in charge of a convoy that is going to take heavy losses and will need to defend themselves while moving forward. WWII was a difficult war as many veterans might tell you and had massive casualties that occurred due to a number of reasons. A pitched battle at sea however is something that we don’t get to see quite as often in war movies, at least not on this scale, so it will be interesting to see how the movie plays out, and whether people will fully appreciate what Hanks has done.
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