Men of Honor

Day 185 - 7/4/09 - Movie #185

BEFORE: OK, so I wussed out on Memorial Day by watching "Armageddon" - today I can watch something actually patriotic, without breaking up my De Niro chain.

THE PLOT: The story of Carl Brashear, the first African American, then also the first amputee, US Navy Diver and the man who trained him.

AFTER: Cuba Gooding Jr. plays the central role here, with De Niro as Master Chief Billy Sunday. I was wondering if I should address the latent racism in "Taxi Driver" and "Mean Streets", but here it's an actual plot point, as Brashear has to fight both the navy regulations and personal battles against racist officers, in order to qualify for diving training, and then succeed as a diver. De Niro's Sunday starts out as a drill instructor (in the style of Louis Gossett Jr. or R. Lee Ermey) but after a demotion, he returns to help the injured Brashear train and regain his active duty status (in the style of Mr. Miyagi).

Michael Rapaport, last seen in "Cop Land", plays a stuttering diver wanna-be, also appearing is "Hey it's THAT Guy" regular Holt McCallany (semi-regular from CSI: Miami a few years back). It's a very inspiring story, mined for the maximum amount of drama. One quibble - as the years pass and the technology improves, shouldn't the new navy diving suits get lighter, instead of heavier?

RATING: 7 out of 10 flanges

DENIR-O-METER: 8 - Billy Sunday, with his corncob pipe and Southern accent, is a great character and one mean SOB - does he have a heart of gold beneath the rough exterior, or does he just like to buck the system?