12 | 1h 31min | Action, Drama, History | 10 July 2020 (UK)
Taking a different approach into the depths of War, rather than rely on the big action set pieces 'Greyhound' attempts to combat this normal with a dialogue heavy tense journey through the perilous unprotected waters of the Pacific during World War II.
Wasting no time developing these characters, we are thrown right into the action. The film doesn't feel like it needs to explain itself, nautical language is used almost from the start. Whether you understand it or not, it never feels like you need to. Never feeling tired, all the action set pieces are elevated by the choice to use this type of language, setting the tone for exactly what is happening to these men.
Creating the tension through the shear pace that this film runs at, one event after the other, it barely gives you a moment to breathe. The action is non-stop but not all guns blazing as expected. It's a tactics game, cat and mouse if you'd like, each moment of success or devastation is felt due to the depth of this script.
Every decision flows well into each other, from one tense moment to the next, making full use of the short run time of this film. Sat at just over an hour and a half, taking advantage of these moments is key, but any longer run time and it's easy to notice that this would get tedious quick.
Hanks is undoubtedly one of the best actors working today, here is no different. He has an aura on screen that is indescribable. He commands it, fitting for the role he is playing. It is almost like he has experienced similar situations, jumping right into the shoes of his character.
Now "Greyhound" is nothing groundbreaking, nothing spectacular, but it manages to provide a copious amount of tension for a script heavy film. We get the occasional explosion or burst of gun fire but this doesn't feel overloaded. The stakes are real, and they feel it.
By Elliot Lines - Lead Editor