Film

Torpedo: U-235

Name: Torpedo: U-235
Genre: Action, War, Adventure
Released: 2019
Cast: Koen De Bouw, Ella-June Henrard, Sven de Ridder, Vic de Wachter, Gilles De Schryver

A Belgian WWII action film about resistance fighters stealing a Nazi U-boat loaded with uranium and racing to deliver it to America. It's a propulsive, high-stakes submarine thriller that swaps introspection for momentum—think *Das Boot* crossed with a heist picture. Made for people who want excitement and don't need everything to be perfect.

TMDb rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a pulpy wartime caper built around a stolen submarine, where the fun lies in ingenious improvising under pressure and a crew you can root for.

Skip it if the mood is brisk and rather broad, so if you need grit and moral complexity from your war films, the heroics may feel too tidy and the action too cartoonish.

What it asks of you: Two hours in a tight, noisy space, with a steady pace of set-pieces and little room to breathe between them, so settle in ready to be carried along.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Das Boot1981

The definitive submarine thriller: claustrophobic, tense, and full of desperate men making impossible choices. It sets the standard for everything that follows, including this film.

But Nearly three hours long, mostly German dialogue, and the pacing is deliberate rather than bombastic. It demands patience.

The Dirty Dozen1967

A suicide-mission movie with serious bite: likeable rogues, moral complexity, and some of the most satisfying action sequences ever committed to film. It defined the template that *Torpedo* follows.

But A 1960s sensibility about violence and masculinity that hasn't aged perfectly. Some of it looks dated now.

The Battle of the River Plate1956

A taut naval thriller about a warship cat-and-mouse game that's part procedural, part character study. British restraint applied to genuine stakes. Pure craftsmanship.

But The pacing is measured and the spectacle restrained. If you need constant chaos, you'll get restless.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Torpedo: U-235

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Yellow Sea2010

Both are chase narratives where the mission is less important than the desperate forward momentum. Both pit ordinary men against overwhelming odds with no exit.

South Korean director Na Hong-jin's cross-border pursuit thriller: gorgeously shot, morally murky, and relentlessly tense. It shares *Torpedo*'s engine—hunted men in motion—but remakes it as something darker and more artful.

But It's violent and bleak, with characters making terrible choices for understandable reasons. The pacing is deliberately suffocating rather than thrilling.

Enemy at the Gates2001

WWII action with real craft: stunning cinematography, tense set pieces, and two leads who genuinely hold the screen. It never feels like it's phoning it in.

But The love story subplot is paint-by-numbers and sits awkwardly next to the war material. The politics are simplified.

Dunkirk2017

Nolan's layered structure makes you feel the desperation and confusion of wartime extraction. Visceral, intelligent, and genuinely exhausting in the best way.

But The narrative cuts between timelines in ways that frustrated some viewers. The dialogue is sometimes hard to hear underneath the score.

The Guns of Navarone1961

A heist-mission hybrid: a crack team infiltrates an island fortress to destroy impossible gun emplacements. It's thrilling, clever, and nobody oversells the drama.

But The special effects and some of the action sequences look noticeably vintage. The female character exists mostly to be rescued.

Stolz der Nation2009

Tarantino's WWII fever dream: sharp dialogue, brilliant casting, and a kind of controlled fury. It reminds you that war films don't have to be solemn.

But It's more interested in style than accuracy, and the violence tips into cartoonish. Some find Tarantino's mannerisms exhausting.

The Keeper2018

A lesser-known WWII gem about a German POW and an English girl. It's moving, surprisingly intimate, and has real emotional stakes alongside the survival narrative.

But It's quiet and character-driven in ways that contrast sharply with action-focused films. Some viewers find it a bit slow-burn.

Firefox1982

Clint Eastwood as a pilot stealing a Soviet experimental fighter during the Cold War. It's a chase film dressed as espionage: lean, propulsive, unpretentious fun.

But The dialogue is thin and the emotional beats feel rushed. Some of the effects look rough even by 1982 standards.

All Is Lost2013

Like a U-boat film stripped to its essence—confined space, lethal environment, one person fighting not to die. It's *Torpedo* distilled into its purest form, all exterior threat and interior will.

One man, a sailboat, and the ocean: Robert Redford's silent survival film is pure visceral cinema, no dialogue needed. It transforms confinement into an aesthetic experience.

But Minimal plot, minimal character development, minimal talking. If you need dialogue and exposition, this will feel like watching someone's phone battery die.

The Bridge on the River Kwai1957

Both examine men under impossible orders executing a mission with life-or-death stakes. Both ask whether completing the mission means you've won—or lost something irretrievable.

Lean's masterpiece about a British officer in a POW camp tasked with building a bridge. It's intelligent, gorgeously composed, and asks hard questions about duty, pride, and complicity that feel urgent now.

But Nearly three hours, stately pacing, and the heroism is complicated in ways some find uncomfortable. It rewards patience but doesn't chase you.