Das Hanks.
91 Mins. Starring: Tom Hanks, Stephen Graham, Rob Morgan, Chet Hanks & Elisabeth Shue. Director: Aaron Schneider.
Submarine submerged, locked down in the perfect claustrophobic, quarantine metaphor, get your puns armed and ready like torpedos or 'Splash'. Saving 'Captain Phillips', 'Cast Away' under the sea like 'Philadelphia' co-star Denzel Washington's 'Crimson Tide' with Gene Hackman, this is a miracle UNDER the Hudson for the 'Sully' star in leagues of his own. Catch him if you can, a blue and green mile below for an 'Apollo 13' like mission with as much problems as Houston or the Hudson. But this time colder than a 'Bridge Of Spies' war the 'Saving Private Ryan' star leads a 'Das Boot', 'Band Of Brothers' to another World War II story wrote by the 'Uncommon Type' novelist himself like that other thing he does. Post 'Post', this is big and coming off 'A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood', the Hollywood star of Hollywood stars who is so nice Mr. Rogers should play HIM reaches new depths with his latest greatest and Hollywood history lesson. Catching a 'Greyhound' like he was driving coach from New York to Boston, here's 'Peter Pan' thinking he had enough trouble with Captain Hook. Mr. Movies who has the Paul Greengrass Western, 'News Of The World' and 'Elvis' biopic on his jukebox about to play (although the 'Hologram For The King' star is not playing Presley) has plenty of time with that typewriter too, staying home and staying safe right now. Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson (who also has some great music out this Friday release day) both contracted Coronavirus whilst vacationing Down Under in Australia earlier this year (although they are now safe and well, fully recovered). Following them and two Utah Jazz players getting it (Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell) COVID-19 became all too real in the all too tragic 2020 that started with the tragic loss of Kobe, GiGi and their friends and their family and continues with police brutality as in protest we take to the streets that read 'Black Lives Matter' like they should until it is understood. As we kept socially distant and as safe as the houses that surround us in four walls...except those like Trump who think this thing is as real as he thinks climate change is. Fox newsflash for you Donald, is your seat starting to get hot? If you don't wear a mask America's Dad, Tom Hanks doesn't respect you. He's even taking to the cinematic closure in a world of cancelled concerts and sport bubbles by taking this dog off the big-screen it belongs in epic entertainment (imagine seeing those torpedos stream without the need of a solid internet connection for this solid movie) and sense of scale and taking a bite with Apple TV. Hey at least he didn't shoot it on his iPhone...although Steven Soderbergh has shown ('Unsane', Netflix's 'High Flying Bird') you can make a decent job of that to boot.
Saving America more times than he did Ryan (Tom was willing to hunt like the 'Red October' for a coronavirus cure using his blood as a Hanks-cine too). Or more times than Hollywood does 'The Martian' and said soldier himself, Matt Damon. Based on the book, 'The Good Shepherd' by C.S. Forester, Hanks' adapted screenplay directed by former 'Kiss The Girls' cinematographer, 'Two Soldiers' short and 'Get Low' director Aaron Schneider, back to the beautiful battalion basics, sees him encounter the grey seas of a perfect storm that has nothing to do with the kind of "chop" character actor legend Shea Whigham warned Leonardo DiCaprio about in 'The Wolf Of Wall Street'. From 'Captain Phillips' to Captain Ernest Krause (as first name symbolic and defining as they come. Upon sinking an enemy ship in a sea of slick oil inked with a crimson tide he remarks on the "50 lost souls"), the all-American actor takes patriosm back to World War II and the high seas of the North Atlantic. Escorting allies and convoys of supply ships with his destroyer and his first command crossing to good ole Liverpool like he was heading for the Albert Dock. This Hanks for the history vehicle...or should we say vessel, takes this navy codename Greyhound on a shore to shore trip that's anything but a milk run as a pack of wolves, howling and hailing in the form of some German U-boat smell blood in the water like circling sharks, as Hanks' Captain tries to avoid them like Matthew McConaughey and Jon Bon Jovi's 'U-571' couldn't critics, trying to claim they cracked the Enigma code like 'The Imitation Game'. Crossing the infamous, 'Black Pit' like hot coals (which is as bad as it sounds), requires 50 hours without air support and maybe four square meals, or cups of coffee. Supplies are as slim as their chances, but hope is as in their hearts as the recited words of a Bible verse hung above the outposts of their bunks like crosses to bear. As authentic as 'The Pacific', you will be feet first all in when it comes to this artillery attack in the Atlantic in comfortable, but bloody slippers, that's more a chess game of wills than a checkmate cancellation like those trolls taking to Twitter. Hanks yet again proves in such a simple genuine gesture that he has real character in command.
DIVE! DIVE! DIVE (in his, "YOU ARE A TOY" voice)! As this game of "you sunk my battleship" is a red room alert of tension and taught nerves. Some critics are calling this bland...but I don't know what brand of biscuit they're buying, because this takes it. Damn the torpedos, sonar can't touch him. Because the critics can barely srape the hull like a shark swimming past...let alone scratch the surface of this big picture with more subtle substance than Hank's Steven Spielberg (the two personifying this perfectly in their latest and most recent 'Bridge Of Spies' actor/director, perfect partnership collaboration) like second-wind of a more mature, signature style, late career sea change after they were both big in the 80's (Hanks: 'Turner and Hooch' and 'The 'Burbs'. Speilberg: 'E.T.' and 'Indiana Jones') to their G.O.A.T. like M.J. dominant 90's (Hanks: 'Forrest Gump' and 'Apollo 13'. Speilberg: 'Jurassic Park' and 'Schindlers List'...and of course 'Saving Private Ryan' and then 'Catch Me If You Can'). As suffocating as the classic, good German 'Das Boot' series-especially in its football match runtime that uses the war clock as effectively as Hans Zimmer's 'Dunkirk' score-Hanks would probably fancy his chances with some Somali pirates again like 'Phillips' instead of this pit of despair, but he still holds his station. Evoking emotion in slight grimaces and gestures instead of the brutual breakdown he had on the last ship he commanded like the "my aircraft" of 'Sully' (or that flight manifest too), it would be wrong to not give him an Academy medal again, especially in a year of ration thin movie releases on the docket. This weekend being one of the biggest with the Atomic 'Bombshell' of a career Charlize Theron taking to Netflix for new life with 'The Old Guard'. Hanks heartfelt moments of presents and proposals on hold with 80's 'Cocktail' and 'Back To The Future' Lmlegend Elisabeth Shue, back with 'The Boys' on Amazon echos the airport roadside 'Cast Away' fleeting moments with another hallowed name in Helen Hunt, before they said goodbye for what looked like forever. Hanks has ship support however in the shape of probably the best character actor on the planet right now (from Elton John's 'Rocketman' to the shorts of 'The Irishman' (and that was just some of last year) and what looks like a perfect cast in the next season of 'Peaky Blinders' like the 'Taboo' of Tom Hardy or the tongue in the cheek of the Carnage of the 'Venom' sequel) in Stephen Graham backing his skip with the perfect American accent even though they are heading to his Scouse shores in this story. Whilst serving up cooked meals as arguably the second best character actor right now, 'Mudbound', 'Just Mercy' and every street-level Marvel 'Defender', Netflix heroes favourite hustling star Rob Morgan's kind mate just wants to see his Captain get a decent meal by the grace of his Godliness. This man is a saint in chef whites and the plain sight pure soul of this submerging story that strikes subtle and literal shots across your bow. Even Hanks real life son and star of 'Empire' Chet (not lookalike Colin) is on hand for some blink and you'll miss that it's him moments. Quarters don't get much closer than this in another personal, passion project for Tom setting sail. With 'Greyhound' this old sea dog still has some tricks trading war stories as this shepherd leads his flock through the Battle of the Atlantic. A fine film. Salute! TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Further Filming: 'Captain Phillips', 'Bridge Of Spies', 'Das Boot'.
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