In the early years of the World War II, the Royal Navy is fighting a desperate battle to keep the Atlantic convoy routes open to supply the British Isles, facing the great danger posed by the many German warships, such as the Admiral Graf Spee, which are scouring the ocean for cargo ships to sink.
Though it's mostly a waiting game, the film is tense and involving, thanks to Powell's fluid shifting of the point of view.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
Powell and Pressburger's final collaboration as The Archers was also, perhaps, their dullest.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
26 Jan 2006
fresh:
Give the British filmmakers a good, rousing subject from their own naval history and they're almost certain to come up with a picture that proudly bespeaks the courage and audacity of a hero breed.
– Bosley Crowther,
New York Times,
28 Jan 2006
fresh:
The battle sequences, in which the lightweight British cruisers close in on the Graf Spee and force the enemy to take shelter in Montevideo harbor, are powerful, exciting and technically impressive.