Black Sea

"I know a way to not be like this. I know a way to get money." Captain Robinson (Law) is a submarine captain who has just been told he is no longer needed. When he tells his crew about this they are wondering what the next step in their lives will be. The idea comes up about trying to salvage a sunken sub full of Nazi gold and they agree to look for it. What starts off as a way to make money becomes something so much more. This is a movie that I can not do justice to in a review. The movie is nothing amazing and is not a classic but this is one of the biggest surprises I have seen in a while. I was sucked in right away and was interested and intrigued all the way until the end, which seemed to come almost too soon. This movie takes all the great aspects of a heist movie and moves the setting to a claustrophobic submarine. I could go on about how much I liked this movie but I will just say this is one you have to see to understand. I recommend this. Overall, nothing that will win awards or become a classic, but it was entertaining and very much worth your time. I really enjoyed this. I give it a B+.

All of the classic drama/suspense elements are there; intrigue, plotting, betrayal, redemption, class conflict, heroes, bad guys, the mandatory weasel...and a pretty darned cool submarine.

They really didn't break any new ground but there is certainly room for another, 'Holy crap...we're really deep underwater in a tin can' movie.

Unlike 'The Hunt for Red October', this movie was mostly dark with intermittent moments of hope but little humour...which is OK since as a pure drama, things moved along nicely. Good acting, dialogue and direction gave this film a finished and crafted look and feel.

Jude Law gave a truly gritty performance, which I really doubted he had in him. I expected some of the more typical smart mouthed, foppy behaviour we've come to expect from Jude, but he fit right in with the other rough and tumble members of the crew.

It's well worth seeing on the big screen but you better hurry...tonight I was completely alone in the theatre...which means a lot of people are missing out on some fine entertainment, and it probably won't be around much longer.

Robinson (Jude Law) is laid off from his salvage company, but learns about a German sub deep in the Black Sea that is loaded with gold from WWII. Robinson gets the funding, an old Russian sub and a crew of 12 consisting of Russians and English to go after the gold.

All of the above sounds really good, but here's the thing: the crew members don't like or trust each other and tensions rise. Here is what I didn't understand: most were out of work and readily available to search for the gold. Yet, they acted like this was business as usual and would have liked it if some members were killed off and that would mean more money for them. Did someone say "greed." Robinson did say that all members would receive an equal share and this message was good and understood, by all, for about 20-seconds.

The Russians spoke Russian and Robinson needed translations. Why not let the Russians speak English as we sometimes hear in movies? I mean if the translations were deceptive, then I could understand their speaking Russian, but there were no deceptions. See?

One more thing: they hit something that breaks their drive shaft and they see the German sub and need to get that drive shaft to be able to move. Three go out with limited air supply in their tanks to retrieve the drive shaft and once inside the German sub, they discover the gold. Now here's the thing: a winch materializes out of nowhere to move the gold and the drive shaft. There is no talk of limited air supply and all work together to get the winch to move the gold and the drive shaft in the sea bed mud. Limited air supply indeed !

Then comes the big twist. I truly forgot there would be a twist. Hey, it happens. And it happened because I was so engaged in this tension-filled story, but there it was. Bummer.

The acting and tension all around were so good I felt as though I was on that sub, too, and yes, I was looking over my shoulder every 10-seconds like everyone else in these cramped quarters.

There are some holes in here, but this is still a good sub story. (7/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes.

As a former submarine sailor I watch every submarine picture that is exhibited. None are exactly as it was or is. Most are a lot of fun to watch. This movie was very good as it entertained and kept you on the edge of your seat. This is a good escape from all the movies that are all explosions, blood and gore, fantasy, and vampire trash. This has a believable storyline even if the FX are a little unbelievable. You should watch this movie and enjoy it. Jude law is surprising in the role of the Capt. and is a great deal different than previous movie roles for him. The clash of personalities adds to the excitement through danger and mechanical malfunctions.

Black Sea is about a group of men who have given everything to their jobs, only to be discarded away. These men then get a submarine to find a U-Boat containing Nazi gold.

Going in to the movie with that description and only having seen one trailer, I had low expectations for this. However, this movie was a lot better that I thought it would be despite the events of the movie being predictable to a certain extent.

The story goes as expected apart from I couple of things which I didn't see coming (which is always nice). The characters were a bit lacking. Apart from a couple, most were under-developed. And my main issue with the most of the characters is that I didn't really care most of them. As for the Scottish accents, it was easy enough to understand, but then again, I live in Scotland. The movie does have a good share of awesome and very entertaining scenes though.

In saying that, I still enjoyed the movie as it has a decent story and conclusion, despite lacking a bit in the character department.