Men of Honor (2000)

Men of Honor (2000) – Carl Brashear (Cuba Gooding Jr) becomes the first African-American to be accepted into the U.S. Navy’s Dive School.  He must fight his way through training, plus the loss of a leg.  The man who trains him (Robert DeNiro) is there through it all, as both adversary and advocate.

Directed by George Tillman, Jr.                         Starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Robert DeNiro, Charlize                                                                                                  Theron

Another bio-pic, but this one has some action to it, and that makes all the difference.  Carl Brashear had to fight his way through the racism of the newly integrated Navy in the 1950s to fulfill his dream of being a diver.  He would go on to rise to the highest level in that field, earning the title of Master Diver.  It was a long and gruelling training all by itself.  With so much of the institution working against him, it was a task that only a man of great strength, both physical and mental, could have achieved.

Once again, the movie is dominated by the incredible interplay between two wonderful actors.  DeNiro plays a snarling, old school, drunk of a former legend in Master Chief Petty Officer Sunday.  A brilliant diver (that’s why he’s an instructor at the Diving and Salvage School), he is also an angry, loud mouthed troublemaker with a propensity for mouthing off to superior officers.  DeNiro pulls no punches here.  Bitterness oozes from Sunday’s every pore.  But he’s won over by the determination and skill of Brashear.

Gooding brings a strong, quiet dignity to Brashear.  He carries his own anger but isn’t in a position to express it and still achieve his goal.  So he simply outlasts the competition.  And Gooding goes toe to toe with DeNiro for the full distance.  It’s wonderful to watch.

I have no idea why Charlize Theron is in this movie.  Her role is completely functionless in the story.  Not that I ever mind having Charlize Theron in a movie, but she doesn’t have anything to do.

There’s not really anything surprising in the story.  You know how it’s going to end.  The movie itself never feels like it’s a continuous story.  More like a string of sketches on the same theme.  And the soundtrack was just lame.  It’s not often that a soundtrack intrudes in such a cheesy, useless fashion as this one.

Why I Liked It – Gooding and DeNiro

Why You Will Like It – An outstanding job of an inspirational bio pic, plus Gooding and DeNiro.

Rating – *** Worth A Look