Although the film was financially successful and reasonably well received by critics, the plot attracted substantial criticism. British sailors from captured the first naval Enigma machine from in the North Atlantic in May 1941, months before the United States entered the war and three years before the US Navy captured "U-505" and its Enigma machine. The anger over these inaccuracies reached the British Parliament, where the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, agreed that the film was an "affront" to British sailors. The film was also criticized for portraying German U-boat crews in a negative light by showing them gunning down Allied survivors instead of giving them assistance or taking them aboard as prisoners.