MEN OF HONOR - Blu-ray review

Movie reviewed by John J. Puccio; Video/Audio/Extras reviewed by James Plath

What do two such seemingly dissimilar films as Fox´s "Men of Honor" and "Disney´s The Kid" have in common? Both stories lead you scene by scene through script pages of the wholly expected. This is not to suggest that either film is without merit. Sometimes we only want the expected. But only sometimes. Not this time. Not now. "Men of Honor" is an old-fashioned, heart-tugging true story that could easily be described as pure hokum if most of it didn´t really happen. And even knowing that a lot of it did actually happen doesn´t help much. With the exception of the performances of its two principal players, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Robert De Niro, "Men of Honor" could easily pass for an A&E Biography Special.

Based on the life of Carl Brashear (Gooding), the movie tells of the first African-American to become a U.S. Navy diver and the first amputee in Navy history to return to full active duty. On paper I´m sure Brashear´s tale appeared to make a heroic and inspirational movie, yet the finished product is presented with so much melodrama and with such insufferable earnestness, it comes dangerously close to imitating a Saturday-morning cliffhanger, a weekday-afternoon soap opera, and the six o´clock news.

It all begins in the late 1940s when Brashear, the son of poor sharecroppers, decides to join the Navy. One of his first experiences with the service is to witness the daring rescue of a downed seaman by Master Chief Diver Billy Sunday (De Niro), a feat that results in an injury to Sunday that renders him unable ever to dive again. However, the affair influences Brashear to become a Navy diver himself. The problem was that at that time the Navy was just being desegregated, and racial bigotry was still widespread. The Navy had never before accepted an African-American into their elite search-and-rescue unit, and they weren´t about to start. But Brashear persists and wins entrance into the Navy´s diving school, a place where he coincidentally finds Master Chief Sunday as his instructor. While Gooding plays Brashear as entirely virtuous and loyal, an upright Boy Scout, De Niro plays Sunday as a loudmouthed, hard-nosed, racist tough guy with a beautiful young wife (Charlize Theron) and practically no friends. De Niro looks and sounds, in other words, like his character in "Cape Fear." Needless to say, Brashear and Sunday do not hit it off, and needless to say, Gooding is upstaged by De Niro most of the time, almost shifting the focus of the film´s attention to the wrong man. Matters are complicated further by the training facility´s daft old commander, Mr. Pappy (Hall Holbrook), who is even more determined than Sunday not to let a black man enter the corps.

You see where this is going, don´t you? As anticipated, Brashear passes his tests after many harsh ordeals, in the course of which he meets, falls in love with, and marries a medical student (Aunjanue Ellis), plus wins the grudging admiration of Sunday. From the time he enters the diving school, Brashear determines one day to become a Master Chief Diver, the highest rank a noncommissioned officer can attain. And nothing is about to stop him--not the prejudice of his fellow sailors, not a monumental series of disasters, not the loss of a limb, not even a macho breath-holding contest in a local bar.

aybe the film should have been called "Against All Odds," if that title hadn´t already been taken. According to the story, one tragedy after another beset the unfortunate Brashear in his climb to the top. Yet each time Brashear perseveres, every calamity made to appear like a solemn ceremony rather than anything particularly exciting. His grit and determination carry him through, that and a whole lot of swelling crescendos from the orchestra pit, and eventually he earns the respect of not only Sunday but his fellow corpsmen and most of the world as well. Did I mention on top of everything else that he locates and helps retrieve a nuclear bomb lost at sea? Apparently, this guy could do everything! Anyway, even if it´s to be trusted, the story is less than convincing.

Video:
John called the SD video "breathtaking," but that's not the case with the Blu-ray edition. There's a slight haziness in some scenes, and a slight graininess in others. In close-ups, there's the usual amazing detail we've come to expect from Blu-ray, but in long shots especially the quality isn't as impressive. The 1080p HD picture was transferred to a 25GB single-layer disc using MPEG-2 technology at 18MBPS, with the picture presented in a full 2.35:1 widescreen.

Audio:
The sound is better, though concentrated more in the front center speaker than many Blu-ray releases. That makes it less impressive as a Blu-ray, because the sound doesn't play across the full range of speakers as it does on some of the better Blu-ray releases, so be warned. The featured audio option is DTS HD 5.1 Master Lossless, with additional options being Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1, and subtitles in English (CC) and Spanish.

Extras:
Included on the Blu-ray version is the commentary from the SD release featuring director Tillman, producer Robert Teitel, writer Scott Marshall Smith, and Gooding, Jr. It's pretty average, with a blend of information and reminiscence. There's also a trivia track made for the Blu-ray version that's good to watch. I actually enjoyed it better than the commentary, but I like trivia. The only other bonus feature is the theatrical trailer in HD. Sorry, fans, but there's a drop-off from the SD release. Missing are the deleted scenes, several short featurettes, and a music video.

Parting Shots:
Some films grab you by the throat and pull you in. Some take you out to sea and let you drown. "Men of Honor" is to be commended for telling the story of a most determined and courageous gentleman, but I suspect the liberties Hollywood took in dressing it up only serve to undermine its effectiveness. We come away shaking our head, wondering how much to believe and how much not. I don´t think that´s what the filmmakers had in mind.