A fun but gripping movie that keeps you entertained.
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Starring: Jude Law, Scoot McNairy, Bobby Schofield, Grigoriy Dobrygin, Ben Mendelsohn, Michael Smiley
Rating: 15
Running time: 115 mins
Black Sea follows a group of ex-submariners who have recently been made redundant. The men are hired for the risky job of stealing Nazi gold from a German submarine, sunk off the coast of Georgia, without any government’s knowledge. All for even shares of the money, some of the crew realise their shares get bigger if there are less people.
The trailer for this film is pretty misleading; Black Sea isn’t a straight claustrophobic thriller where one crazed crew member goes around killing people one by one. Without giving too much away, you have to give the film some credit for being a little bit more complicated than similar movies. It is very easy for these to have basic and bland characters with predictable arcs. Most of the characters in this film are well fleshed out, believable and relatable. You have to accept from the beginning that Black Sea isn’t a realistic story, it is enjoyable however.
It’s not predictable; this is a major benefit because it could have easily been a two hour snooze-fest where you can tell what’s going to happen 15 minutes before it is supposed to. The story initially moves at quite a sluggish pace but picks up after the first hour. A lot of time is dedicated to Jude Law’s character being made redundant and lamenting about his life. This does build his character up adequately but it gets to the point where you just want them to get on the submarine.
After that, it is a genuinely entertaining, albeit unbelievable, thriller to enjoy. The men face all sorts of problems as they attempt to loot the submarine, dealing with each one as it comes and just trying to get out alive and rich.
The performances here are pretty solid; Jude Law’s accent is bizarre and quite distracting at some points, but it is clear he really did try with this role. His performance is not that of someone who is lazily showing up and reading some lines, his questionable Scottish accent lets down an otherwise great performance. Ben Mendelsohn is great in this film and really should be in more major releases. Playing the somewhat psychotic crew member very well but also being able to not turn it into a caricature. He is a believable character and you can understand (almost) everything he does.
The rest of the cast are good too, this is really what saves Black Sea from being just a stupid film. The characters are very well written and complex, the plot itself is pretty unpredictable and interesting enough to keep you invested.
Overall, this is just a fun film to keep you entertained. It is actually quite nice to see a really far-fetched plot like this with Nazi gold and murders and treason. If you’re looking for something fun but also gripping before Christmas, Black Sea is a good choice.
Verdict
