- Actors: Nicolas Cage, Matt Lanter, Thomas Jane, Tom Sizemore
- Director: Mario Van Peebles
- Film Format: NTSC, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Region: Region A/1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: R
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Release Date: January 24, 2017
- Run Time: 131 minutes
It is much more
difficult to criticize a film that is based on a true story, especially when
the end of the film is peppered with real-life footage and interviews. This can
make a mediocre film seem better than it is by leaving the audience with its
most powerful moments, but even connecting the actors to their real-life
counterparts is not enough to save USS
Indianapolis: Men of Courage. There is far too much to criticize, including
a mouthful of a title, distracting from any ability to create empathy for the
real-life men through the characters in the film.
The USS
Indianapolis was the American navy ship tasked with delivering the atomic bomb
that would eventually be dropped on Hiroshima.
Because of the top secret mission delivering the nuclear weapon, the USS
Indianapolis was given no support or means of defense, leaving them exposed on
their journey home. USS Indianapolis: Men
of Courage is a lengthy film of 131-minutes, split into three different
sections of narrative. The beginning of the film is their journey to complete
their task, but the largest portion of the film is reserved for their difficult
survival after being attacked by a Japanese submarine on their way back to the
Unites States.
It turns out
that the initial sinking of the ship is far less devastating than the inaction
that follows. Though most of the men survive the sinking of the USS
Indianapolis, they are left stranded in the middle of the ocean, where they are
completely exposed to be picked off by swarms of sharks attracted to the blood
of the carnage. This portion of the film has plenty of potential, though it is
mostly lost by special effects that are well below sub-par and a screenplay
that offers no context or significant character development between the random
and often unrealistic shark attacks. Before long it begins to drag under the
weight of repetition and bad melodrama, though the film shows no improvement in
the final portion of the narrative.
Switching
directions entirely, the final act of the film feels like it belongs to another
movie entirely. Upon arriving back home after a daring rescue from sharks in
enemy waters, the film becomes about the criminal charges brought against the
ship’s captain, Charles McVay (Nicolas Cage). Though the urge to tell all
aspects of the story is understandable, the themes of their survival in the
water don’t exactly mesh with the criticism of the government’s swift treatment
of the public relations disaster as opposed to the slow rescue efforts for the
real devastation. Men of Courage
tries to be a patriotic film while simultaneously condemning the American
government but never figures out how to do both simultaneously, which often
leads to a disjointed narrative.
It would be far
too easy to nitpick the faults of USS
Indianapolis: Men of Courage, pointing out all of the derivative and cliché
sub-plots and characters, which include a love story between two sailors and
the girl they both love (it didn’t work in Pearl
Harbor, and it doesn’t work here). There are little problems scattered
throughout the entire film, but I will focus on the large issues instead. The
script jumps around without a cohesive theme to connect all of the moving
parts, the acting is mostly amateurish save a few name actors who provide
glorified cameos, and the special effects look like they belong in a bad horror
movie rather than a film honoring the sacrifice of real men. There are many
other things wrong with the film, but these three are reason enough to stay away.
The Blu-ray
release comes with a Digital HD copy of the film, which actually may be the
best extra that could be included. If this film is watched on a phone, tablet,
or other smaller screen, there is a chance it will be small enough for the special
effects to look passable. The only extra on the disc itself is a making-of
featurette, though it is rather detailed at over 30-minutes long.
Entertainment Value:
5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 4.5/10
Historical
Significance: 3/10
Special Features: 3.5/10
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