Review: The Wolf's Call

It's not often we get a submarine film. When done right, it can be a very entertaining experience.
So good in fact, it could be seen as one of the greatest films of all-time. I am of course referring to the gold standard of submarine films, Das Boot.

This latest addition to this subgenre comes from France, and they have given us quite a thrill ride.

The choice of time period is near future and the world the  director and their team have envisioned is definitely one that we can all relate to and some truly feel this is where this world is going.

The story may be one we have seen before. But the execution of this made it for a tense and exciting watch.
Also, the subplots between certain characters was developed nicely to intertwine with the main plot for everything to come to a satisfying collision. The choices made for the ending felt appropriate. Especially when completed our central characters story arch.

The performances all round were good and several characters had solid story arch's to keep us engaged and prevented the film from ever slowing down in momentum.

Francois Civil did a good job as the lead. There was also some nice from his ensemble cast. Particularly. Omar Sy, Mathieu Kassowitz and Read Karen who showed good commitment to their respective roles.

Only one negative to mention. There is a romance angle and it seemed more like a throwaway side order as it was given little development. By the end, a romance subplot was important to the plot. So I feel with better writing/development, this could have felt as integral as the main plot.

For purely the thriller aspect, this is a very exciting watch. The way they construct the tense moments is really well developed and you truly feel the stakes and the risk our characters are taking. Plus, the writing felt authentic with plenty of sub-lingo being blurted out.
Some bits were 'Hollywoodised' and almost go over the top. But it never detracted my enjoyment levels.

It was really nice to only see a submarine film, but one I would watch again. It might not be as iconic as Das Boot. But I would go out and say this is the next best.

Rating: 8/10