Greyhound

Starring: Tom Hanks, Stephen Graham, Elisabeth Shue, Rob Morgan, Michael Benz, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo

Director: Aaron Schneider

Based on the novel "The Good Shepherd" by C.S. Forester

Under the command of newly promoted Captain Krause (Tom Hanks), the USS Greyhound along with a small fleet of ships have been tasked to cross the Atlantic to England and aid in the war effort. This proves to be a difficult and dangerous task as they must cross through the "Black Pit", a treacherous area filled with German U-Boats looking to send unprotected ships to a watery grave. Unable to be protected by an air escort, the fleet immediately comes under fire and begins to be tracked by a wolfpack of U-Boats. As those U-Boats close in, Krause must use every ounce of cunning and strategy in his arsenal to lead his men to safety and make it home reunite with his future wife Evelyn (Elisabeth Shue).

This is the ultimate dad movie, wasting no time on character development, instead paving the way for an hour and a half of nonstop action. The action, which includes Hanks maneuvering the Greyhound to bank a torpedo off of its hull being an admittedly awesome highlight, isn't bad. While I applaud the fast paced and economical nature of the film, an unfortunate a lack of character development keeps you from becoming ultimately invested in the journey.

For a war movie, it's important to connect with the characters on screen as they experience the horrors of war. Not only do we want to see the characters survive their situation, but when they do inevitably die, the emotional impact is lost if we don't care. The script, written by an out of his depth Hanks, is action packed and filled with enough military and naval jargon to keep its target audience engaged. But this is all there to distract you from the fact that you aren't given a reason to be emotionally invested. There were definitely times where it could have paused things to delve deeper into the crew's lives but would instead cut to another action scene. Monotonous and frustrating.

Hanks as of late has fashioned a career playing characters keeping calm in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds (Captain Phillips, Bridge of Spies, and Sully). His newly promoted and unflinching Captain Krause can join those ranks. Hanks does what he can to keep the film afloat, but his inherent charisma and likability can only go so far. While the crew is filled with some talented and charismatic actors (Stephen Graham, Karl Glusman, Rob Morgan and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) we are never given a reason to care about them.

This isn't the first time Hanks has written a script (That Thing You Do!, Larry Crowne), but does mark the first time he has not directed that script. Directorial duties have instead been handed off to Aaron Schneider, who has not directed a movie since 2009's Get Low. Unfortunately for him, the visuals look like something out of a video game and fail to bring a realism that the movie desperately could have used.

Hank's involvement in any project is exciting, but it's a shame having the A-Lister in the lead is all this war movie has going for it. Yes it is entertaining and I am sure there will be some who are willing to look past the lack of character development and enjoy the spectacle on hand. After a certain point I could not.

Grade: C-

Greyhound is available on Apple TV