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Men of Honor 2000 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by George Tillman, Jr.
PG-13, 128 min. (language) |
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Starring: Robert De Niro, Cuba Gooding Jr., Charlize Theron, Aunjanue Ellis, Hal Holbrook, Michael Rapaport, Powers Boothe
Producers: Bill Badalato, Robert Teitel
Screenplay: Scott Marshall Smith
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Released: 11/10/00 (Wide) |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
Admittedly, movies like this can get a little sappy towards the end, and sometimes it takes away from the overall effect of
the rest of the story. But in the case of Men of Honor, it works, and surprisingly well too. The problems of racism in
the 50's and 60's is well documented, but it takes movies such as this to jog some people's memories. Based on a true story,
this film tells the story of the first black master chief diver in the Navy, and how he overcomes physical and emotional shortcomings
during his career in the service.
Carl Brashear (Cuba Gooding Jr.) signs up for the Navy in the 50's, where he is determined to become a diver, something that
a black man has relatively no chance of attaining. Stubborn, he persists in swimming with the white officers until he is recognized
as the top swimmer on his ship. He encounters Master Chief Billy Sunday (Robert De Niro) when he reports for the Navy's
diving school, and Sunday is bent on failing him out of the school because of his prejudice. Only when Brashear persists in spite
of bad treatment (to put it mildly) that Sunday finally relents and passes him. Years later they will join up in Brashear's fight
for reinstatement as a diver after he is crippled by an accident aboard his ship. This leads to the emotional final scene where
will overcomes the body and wins.
The acting in this movie is top-notch, and, if it weren't for Gooding Jr. and De Niro, it could have fallen flat several times throughout
the story. I'm amazed at how far Cuba Gooding Jr. has come as an actor, now respected as one of the best actors in Hollywood.
Robert De Niro also gives a strong performance as the master chief diver who must overcome personal prejudices to become
the man he wants to be. Charlize Theron also is solid as Sunday's wife.
The struggle of racism is nothing new in the movies, but it takes powerful performances by the actors involved in them to make
it believable. And that, above everything else, is what makes this film memorable. The story is also an inspiring one, one of
honor in both promises made and the courage to change. Men of Honor succeeds where many other movies have failed when
it comes to the racial divide that exists in the past and present.
© 2000 Jonathan Cornwell
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| Masterpiece - Classic; Movie perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See; One of the year's best films |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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