Black Sea: Mar tenebroso

Three reasons to watch Black Sea:

1) if you are interested in U-Boats this works for you 100%.

2) if you are a Jude Law fan then you will see one of his best performances so far. In fact he played the role as a hungry captain brilliantly and credibly.

It could have been honored even for an Oscar worthy role.

3) it offers entertaining value mixed with drama, adventure and submarine details.

I liked this movie cause it's damn dramatic with a touch of adventure.

The running time is okay and the special effects in the submarine are well done. The director Kevin Macdonald made a good a job with this story based on true events.

It merits a solid 6.5/10 that matches nearly the rating of 6.4 of IMDb.

If you like U-Boat movies don't miss K-19 with Harrison Ford, Killer Hunter with Gerard Butler or Red October with Sean Connery.

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.

This film is about a submarine captain who is fired because of downsizing. He decides to form his own submarine team to hunt for the gold that Nazi Germany is rumoured to have left in a sunken submarine at the bottom of the Black Sea.

I was initially put off by "Black Sea" because of the heavy accent, which made it hard for me to understand the dialog. Fortunately, the film is thrilling and captivating, so I was drawn by the film again. The plot keeps me on the edge because there is something happening in rapid succession. The divide between the British and the Russian crew is well portrayed. There are even mind games which is probably unexpected in a submarine thriller. The claustrophobic environment of the submarine, and also the constant fear of catastrophic events happening keep the adrenaline pumping. The ending is unexpectedly moving, I was very sympathetic towards the characters. It even gave me tingles down my body. I enjoyed watching "Black Sea".

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.

"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+.