Black Sea (2014) Review!!

Synopsis – In order to make good with his former employers, a submarine captain takes a job with a shadowy backer to search the depths of the Black Sea for a submarine rumored to be loaded with gold.

My Take – As of underwater movies go, I guess this is the best one out in a while, well not that I know many. Frankly, there is nothing much remarkable about this film, like we probably have seen better films nearly two decades ago like The Hunt for Red October, yet the film is an enjoyable popcorn film filled with enough tension, angst & suspense to spend a good evening. The story follows Salvage submarine captain Robinson (Jude Law) who got sacked by his company. His fellow Kurston talks of a wreck of a lifetime, a downed Nazi sub in the Black Sea which was carrying blackmailed Soviet gold. They get a private backer and Robinson asks for a crew of twelve men, half Brits and half Russians. Robinson and Kurston make their list, reluctantly accepting their colorful attitudes. They get their ride, a rust heap of a sub, in Sevastopol and then get going, diving soon enough so to avoid detection from the Russian Black Sea fleet. The backer insist that his banker Daniels tag along the ride. Soon the crew’s attitudes become a clear ticking time bomb as the British psychopathic diver Fraser picks a fight with the Russians and accidentally kills Kurston, the only one apparent interpreter between them. The crew figure out that it needs exactly their number to run the sub, which means that even Daniels has to a part.

Terrified by the prospect of death, Daniels reveal a dark truth that almost reignites the crew’s volatility. Director Kevin MacDonald is best known for his excellent 2006 film The Last King of Scotland (with Forest Whitaker’s Oscar winning performance as Idi Amin). This time he works with a script from playwright Dennis Kelly to deliver a gritty, tense thriller that is lacking any traditional Hollywood fluff – it’s a down and dirty look at greed, desperation and the survival instinct. Bits of just about every submarine and underwater movie ever made – including K19: The Widow maker, The Hunt for Red October, Run Silent Run Deep and The Enemy Below – are put into the movie blender, mixed with a dash of The Abyss and f the finale of Caine’s Italian Job. As such this has the feel of a film you have seen before! Yet the film, rattles along quite nicely, building the drama, adding the odd explosive scene and even managing one or two very funny quips. He establishes a crew of embittered men on opposing sides without making any of them too much of a caricature. There are a few missing beats and some clunks as logic and reason tumble down the gangway but, for the most part, the film holds the attention and entertains. Admittedly, the claustrophobic atmosphere aboard the sub is enthusiastically portrayed! The only name actor in the cast is Jude Law! Law’s performance here is very strong as he transforms from a p.o.’d former employee to an eye-on-the-prize, win-at-all-cost treasure seeker. The on board tension mounts every time there is interaction between the Russians and Brits, and Law’s character attempts to mediate. The progression of this three-way dynamic is fascinating to watch as it unfolds. Jude Law has given a truly gritty performance, which I really doubted he had in him. I expected some of the more typical smart mouthed behavior we’ve come to expect from Jude, but he fit right in with the other rough and tumble members of the crew. The rest of the actors fit their roles well and the lack of recognizable faces makes this crew feel all the more real.

The characters’ interactions are believable and tense. This film has already taken the audience on quite a ride when a wicked reveal about two-thirds of the way through the film totally changes the game and raises the stakes even higher. As with most submarine films, this movie shows the intensity of human interactions in a heated crucible and also puts on full display the resilience and resourcefulness of men under pressure and their primal drive toward self-preservation. This film also has something to say about the dangers of greed and the nobility of selfless actions. On the whole, ‘Black Sea’ may seem like a movie dumped on the world because it is too light to feature in the summer blockbusters, too small (of budget) to compete against Hollywood’s big studio flicks, nevertheless its a solid successor to the great submarine movies of the past. It doesn’t break any new ground, yet contains all the classic drama/suspense elements to make it worth your time and money!