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Men of Honor

Men of Honor

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $13.48
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The R Rating Is Unfortunate
Review: There was no legitimate reason for giving this movie an, "R" rating. The only thing I can think of that caused this restriction were racial epithets that while ugly and forever inappropriate are not unknown to people under 18. Other language can be found slightly censored so as to still be understood on the radio, or are words that people hear long before they are 18. This is not a movie that substitutes foul language for substance, this is about the Navy and a man who is not welcome, and the language is what should be reasonably expected to have occurred.

This is a movie about an African American that broke yet another color barrier when he became a Navy Diver. This movie is about History and it should be rated in that context. There certainly are Historical Films that for a variety of legitimate reasons should be rated as to keep the younger viewers out, this is not one of them!

Mr. Robert De Niro and Mr. Cuba Gooding Jr. brought to the screen the remarkable story of Mr. Carl Brashear who not only overcame the barriers of color and racism to become an accomplished diver, he is then faced with an unprecedented challenge that no diver of any color had ever had to face, and he won that battle as well.

The time will hopefully come when movies about bravery in the face of racism and other destructive social forces will no longer need to be told, for they no longer will be an issue. Unfortunately that is not presently the case. This movie, put in its proper context with adults/parents attending with their children under 18 is entirely appropriate. When compared to the violence, which somehow becomes benign when it takes the form of animation, this movie is mild in comparison. This movie is also about truth, and truth is often unpleasant, unlike fiction it is as it was, to change it would be to dishonor the man that is portrayed. It is unfortunate enough that a real role model was kept from so many young people.

My Father joined the Navy when he was 17, but he would not have been allowed to see this movie?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Inspirational!
Review: It would not be wide of the mark, I don't think, to think of Mr. Carl Brashear as the Jackie Robinson of Navy diving. This movie is the true story of Brashear and his determination to fulfill his dream of becoming a Navy diver, despite all of the artifical and medical obstacles which lay in his way.

During the epoch covered in this film, African Americans were restricted by the Navy to only being either cooks or Boatswains Mates. Being a former Boatswains Mate myself, I can attest to just how unglamourous a position it is; kind of like the Navy's counterpart to Infranty in the Army.

Brashear was one of the first, if not the very first black sailors to break this pattern. As the first African American to be admitted to Navy diving school, Brashear was forced to endure a degree of the unwarranted prejudice, animosity and hatred that nobody should have to put up with.

Some of the other reviews have accused this movie of being cliche and commonplace. I could not disagree more. Have there been other recent movies that have depicted the trials & tribulations of this volatile time in American history? Most assuredly there have. Does that make this movie superfluous or unnecessary? Of course not. This is a very important movie that deals with part of who we are as Americans, as well as who we want to become.

Unlike many nations which have had difficulty with racial realtions, I believe that we (in the USA) have come a long way. The racial milieu we have created is far from perfect, particularly in the military. My time in the Navy can bear witness to that. However, thanks to pioneers such as Carl Brashear, we all live in a more tolerant, accepting and understanding nation than what it was a mere 40 years ago. The acrimonious relations have not subsided, but have at least not maintained being the "norm" of Navy life. Were it not for people like Brashear, it is not absurd to think that nothing would have changed at all. If anyone wants my opinion, I believe there should be more movies like "Men Of Honor," not fewer.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie To Watch.
Review: I saw previews for this last, year I thought it would be PG-13 I was wrong rated R. It is because it's a true story they use the F word a lot. But this was a great movie. This is not for younger kids, to watch though but I liked it the deleted parts were good plus the Arternate ending was good won't spoil it. Go rent this or buy it on DVD.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A very good movie!
Review: I had semi low expectations for this movie but in the end the movie turned out to be great. Robert D proves again why he is one of the greatest actors of all time. This was a true story as well which makes it a even better watch.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An inspirational story with some shortcomings
Review: Military training films are becoming so common that they are becoming a genre unto themselves. Among the more prominent we have, "Officer and a Gentleman", "Top Gun", "GI Jane", and now "Men of Honor". The fact that this one happened to be true doesn't change the fact that the formula is the same. This film is probably most like "GI Jane" since it focuses on the desegregation angle.

The story is actually quite inspirational and is probably the best human-interest story among those mentioned above. Carl Brashear (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) is unquestionably a man of great courage and principle, and his strength of character shines through brightly in this film. Unfortunately, director George Tillman, Jr. has tunnel vision in presenting the characters and eschews character development of various characters other than Brashear in favor of showing Brashear in a constant state of adversity. Billy Sunday (Robert De Niro) is a central figure, and except for the initial scene, the fistfight and a couple of scenes with his wife, we don't know much about him. For instance, Brashear sees the scars on Sunday's palms and we are to assume that he worked a plow, but there is no follow-up on that point. Mr. Pappy (Hal Holbrook) gets only one short scene by which we can judge him. The rest of his screen time shows him pacing around and ranting. If a director is going to make a human-interest story, he needs to humanize the characters.

Cuba Gooding Jr. gives an outstanding performance as Brashear. This is probably the best I've seen him. This is a role and a character that is far more complete than any part he has played before, and he rises to the occasion. In "Jerry Maguire", Rod Tidwell was a fascinating, but one-dimensional character with the depth of a rain puddle. Brashear is much more complex and grounded, and the issues he faces are life crises, making the part far more challenging. This is an excellent recovery from Gooding's last role in "Chill Factor", a film so dreadful that it was almost an act of professional suicide to take the part.

After a stint trying his hand as a comedian ("Analyze This", "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle", "Meet The Parents"), Robert DeNiro is back to his dramatic roots with an outstanding performance. DeNiro isn't a bad comedian, he is just such a great dramatic actor that it seems like he shouldn't waste his time doing comedy. DeNiro endows Billy Sunday with a rock hard personality belying a tortured soul. It is a pleasure watching him work.

It seems every film I watch lately has Charlize Theron in it. I saw "The Legend of Bagger Vance", "Men of Honor" and "The Yards" right in a row and I was beginning to wonder if she had a part in every film in 2000 (actually, she only did five). This was a minor role for Theron, but she carried it off well and managed to stay with DeNiro step for step. David Keith, who co-starred with Richard Gere in "Officer and a Gentleman", has a cameo here

The DVD has some interesting special features, including reflections by the real Carl Brashear and some deleted scenes.

I enjoyed this film despite the hackneyed plot and the one-dimensional presentation. I rated it a 7/10. I'm a sucker for underdog stories and I have a fondness for stories where strength of character is the central theme. This film is particularly strong in both areas and brings us two memorable acting performances that compensate for some of the director's shortcomings.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Cliched and Boring Biopic
Review: Yes, the navy is good. No, racism is not. There's the movie's plot, really - that's it. This movie's characters have absolutely no depth. It seems like this movie is 4 hours longer than it is. It squanders some terrific actors like Cuba Gooding Jr. ,Robert DeNiro, and Charlize Theron (who has about 5 speaking lines). Robert DeNiro even attempts to feign the most ridiculous southern accent I've ever heard. It's not a terrible movie, it's just very dull and unoriginal. It's also directed in a generic manner and the script is written in a workmanlike fashion that resembles every biopic from the 50s. If you like boring, inoffensive "feel-good" movies with themes that might have been controversial in the latter part of the 19th century buy or rent this film. If you want a good and recent movie about a branch of the service get "A Few Good Men".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Men got the shaft!
Review: Great movie! Where was Cuba and Robert's nomination for best actor. To me, this should have been up for best picture of the year. Both actors were excellent. Must see!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great movie glamorized but Great!!
Review: This movie was really good ya there was a lot of cursing but usually happens when you are a sailor. It showed how much racism is in the Navy and I can tell you there still is quite a bit of racism not as much as back then but there is still quite a bit. Robert DeNiro and Cuba Gooding Jr. were very good in this they seemed hand in hand. Watch it its a very good movie.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A throwback to 1940s army propoganda...
Review: I was just as eager to see this movie as most people: An epic film starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Robert DeNiro, and Charlize Theron...Where could it go wrong? But believe me, it did: Horribly, Horribly Wrong. The performances reduced the characters to caricatures: The strong black man who succeeds in the face of adversity, the "mean old" racist drill sargeant with the southern accent, the drunken Southern belle with a heart of gold. Besides that, the situations were reduced to cliches. I know that Carl Brashear was a real person who was highly celebrated. I would never judge him as a human being, but a man who won so much acclaim must have had a life and a story much more interesting and nuanced than this movie reveals. What's more, I believe this movie makes him appear extremely unlikable. I am not sure whether the fault lies with the poor script or the performance, but the protagonist in this film seemed far too stubborn for his own good. ... The reason this doesn't work however is that in a story of triumph such as this, you want your character to succeed against real threats of racism from real characters, not from a caricature. Once again, such a caricature would be fine in an old war movie, but not today. I found this movie to be insulting to the viewers, encouraging them to cheer for behavior that I find to be reprehensible.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Boring !!
Review: This movie was very slow, it put me to sleep.


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