CREATIVE SCORE: 84%

Story

Greyhound actually had a very compelling story. I was easily able to follow along and was entertained the entire movie. However, I feel the trailer for the movie lead me to believe this would be an epic WWII war film constant fighting as if Tom Hanks’ character was sent into battle to kill a bunch of Nazi submarines—when, in fact, the story was actually all about protecting a convoy crossing the Atlantic. In the trailer, it does show the convoy, but it’s not clear that the convoy is the main goal and purpose of the Greyhound battleship. The trailer was awesome, but it didn’t set up the plot of the movie in my opinion. Regardless, the story was compelling. NOTE Greyhound is not based on a true story. It is based off of a novel around true events. True events regarding the dangers of crossing the Atlantic during WWII and being hunted by German U-boats, but the full Greyhound story was not an exact event in history.

Color/grade

The filming of Greyhound was pretty sweet. It’s wintertime in the frigid North Atlantic Ocean. It’s cold with rough seas and I think the color grade was spot on. It felt dark, emotional, and painful to be out at sea with the stress of German U-boats underneath the water hunting you. The color palette was a mix of deep greens in the shadows and grayish blues in the highlights. The color was quite fitting for the Atlantic Ocean and you just felt cold and tense while watching.

Acting

Tom Hanks, as usual, was great. He is one of my favorite actors and can play so many roles. And his role as Captain Krause likely came easy having acted, directed, and produced so many war films. Hanks did a great job in his role as a man who feels utterly inadequate to take on the duty as Captain commanding a battleship that is supposed to protect a convoy of 50+ ships over a 5 day period of crossing the deadliest part of the Atlantic Ocean called, the “Black Pit.” Why does he feel inadequate? It’s his first command and first time crossing the Atlantic against the Germans. Why is it called the “Black Pit”? It’s the zone in the ocean where it’s so far away from land that you cannot receive air support. There are no play to fly above to spot submarines hidden in the water lurking to attack. No pressure!

Hanks did a great job of showing embarrassment and defeat of having to make quick and difficult decisions as a Captain as lives literally hang in his hands. And (I won’t spoil what) but Hanks does a great job of acting through the pressures of being a Captain to always have his guard on—never sleeping, eating, or resting—always being focused.

Sound design/score

This, I believe, is where a huge win was for the movie. Greyhound’s sound design and score were incredibly captivating. The blaring sirens going off on a battleship when soldiers are called into position to ready themselves for battle is loud and intense. The depth charges being launched into the ocean and exploding are unreal. The bubbles in the water as the camera follows a U-boat submerging under water for the kill is chilling. The sonar beeping and scanning for enemies while everyone anxiously waits in silence for a blip of an enemy makes you hold your breath. And lastly, the score itself was deep tone of brass instruments that felt eerie and dark. Think Inception and you can hear it.

Greyhound Movie Frames

Crew

Director(s) Aaron Schneider
Screenplay Tom Hanks
Cinematography Shelly Johnson
Music Blake Neely