Rating: 
Summary: Beyond the Cliches
Review: Though this actioner contains genuinely suspenseful moments, its main appeal is now largely historical. Researchers looking for grade-A propaganda films from WWII would do well to view this unabashed Warner Bro's entry. All the cliches of the period are present, from the boastful Romeo (John Garfield) to the lovable wise-cracking cook (Alan Hale Sr.) to the no nonsense captain (Cary Grant) to the fresh-faced kid (Robert Hutton, a disturbingly real presence in an otherwise super-slick cast), replete with the usual rites of passage, etc.. The only missing ingredient in an otherwise formula plot are standard references to Brooklyn. Needless to say, all hands perform heroically, almost bloodlessly, such that submarine warfare appears ultimately no more dangerous than a particularly tense and turbulent ocean cruise where lifelong friendships can be formed. If this sounds cynical, it's because as an adult I view the film far differently than I did as a boy. I now understand that claims from a particularly odious slice of racist dialogue about Japanese being unable to love their women ("They don't even have a word for it") amount to opportunistic and poisonous nonsense that can leave permanent scars. And while such demonization may have motivated wartime audiences, the implications of this and other anti-Asian canards produced an ironical riochet effect in Vietnam. Moreover, there's a lesson here for those contemporary audiences subjected to similar demonizations. Beware: the popular deceit of today may turn around and produce the grim reality of tomorrow. And though I still have a nostalgic attachment to such fare, I'm sorry to say that the film no more deals with the realities of war than a Tom and Jerry cartoon deals with the realities of pest extermination. So view the production for what it is--particularly dangerous and seductive wartime propaganda.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent WWII submarine movie! Excellent action sequences.
Review: Tied for the number one WWII submarine movie made (the other is the John Wayne classic "Run Silent, Run Deep"). Excellent crew social interactivity. Excellent "white-knuckle" action suspense. Cary Grant at his best. Good underwater picture simulations, which were top-of-the-line in the decade that this film was made.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent WWII submarine movie! Excellent action sequences.
Review: Tied for the number one WWII submarine movie made (the other is the John Wayne classic "Run Silent, Run Deep"). Excellent crew social interactivity. Excellent "white-knuckle" action suspense. Cary Grant at his best. Good underwater picture simulations, which were top-of-the-line in the decade that this film was made.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent WWII submarine movie! Excellent action sequences.
Review: Tied for the number one WWII submarine movie made (the other is the John Wayne classic "Run Silent, Run Deep"). Excellent crew social interactivity. Excellent "white-knuckle" action suspense. Cary Grant at his best. Good underwater picture simulations, which were top-of-the-line in the decade that this film was made.
Rating: 
Summary: Destination Entertainment
Review: Typical of most Hollywood productions filmed under the watchful eyes of the censors during wartime, DESTINATION TOKYO is at the same time entertaining and naive. Some great films redolent with loss slipped through the censors' submarine net, most notably John Ford's THEY WERE EXPENDABLE and Raoul Walsh's OBJECTIVE BURMA. Delmer Daves' film is better than most, occasionally exciting, often dismayingly starry-eyed -- but it does work. At one point, a downed Japanese parachutist, about to be saved by the sub's crew, pulls out a dagger and fatally stabs his rescuer. We learn here that Japanese children are given a dagger at the age of 5, are taught to train militarily at the age of 7, and go to work in the armament factories at the age of 13. At least, that's what the propaganda people of our armed services wanted us to believe. On the other hand, Cary Grant turns in a remarkably gritty performance totally at odds with his romantic, devil-may-care persona. The cast is star-studded, but some little-known actors turn in outstanding performances -- most particularly the pharmacist's mate who has to perform an emergency appendectomy at the bottom of Tokyo Bay while a fellow crewman reads from a medical textbook. Also the relentless depth charge attack on the sub toward the end is beautifully sustained until our teeth are on edge. As I understand it, the sub is sent to Tokyo to take weather readings in preparation for the famous Doolittle raid. Whether or not this actually happened, and I doubt it did, it doesn't really matter. Today, of course, we are more likely to emphasize the pain and danger, and perhaps even kill off a few of the crew. Wolfgang Petersen's gruelling DAS BOOT is the new submarine paradigm. Given the time and conditions under which this film was made, Daves showed that he was a director with talent. Later, he went on to direct BROKEN ARROW and 3:10 TO YUMA and other excellent films. He is much underrated today and richly deserves a re-evaluation.
Rating:
Summary: Ok Movie but overrated.
Review: was great movie but took along time to get to the action. but with grant. was supurb. only film which I would say should of been better. with grant. watch torpedo run instead.
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