Men of Honor (2000)
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A determined sailor faces systemic prejudice while striving to become the first African American master diver in the United States Navy.
The story
In 1949, Carl Brashear leaves his life as a sharecropper to join the United States Navy. While serving on the salvage ship USS Hoist, he becomes inspired by the bravery of Master Chief Petty Officer Leslie William "Billy" Sunday. Determined to become the first Black American Navy diver, Carl is admitted to the Diving and Salvage School in Bayonne, New Jersey. There, he faces a hostile environment and a commanding officer who intends for him to fail. Despite his educational shortcomings and the prejudice of his peers, Carl remains committed to his goal, seeking to overcome the obstacles placed in his path to achieve his dream of becoming a master diver.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After joining the Navy in 1949, Carl Brashear aspires to become a master diver, a goal hindered by systemic racism. At the Diving and Salvage School, he is mentored by Master Chief Billy Sunday, who is ordered by a prejudiced officer, Mr. Pappy, to ensure Carl fails. Carl overcomes academic hurdles and a rigged final evaluation to graduate. Years later, after losing his leg in a heroic action during the 1966 Palomares incident, Carl faces a bureaucratic battle to be reinstated to active duty with a prosthetic limb. He reunites with Sunday, who helps him fight the opposition of Captain Hanks. In a final hearing in Washington, D.C., Carl successfully navigates a grueling physical test to be reinstated. He eventually becomes a master diver and serves for another nine years.
- First release year
- 2000
- Runtime (minutes)
- 128
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- George Tillman Jr.
- Writers
- Scott Marshall Smith · writer
- Cast and characters
- Robert De Niro · Master Chief Leslie "Billy" Sunday; Cuba Gooding Jr. · Boatswain's Mate Second Class (later Master Diver) Carl Brashear; Charlize Theron · Gwen Sunday; Aunjanue Ellis · Jo Brashear; Hal Holbrook · Camp Commanding Officer "Mr. Pappy" Captain USN.; Michael Rapaport · Gunners Mate Snowhill, Brashear's barracks mate.; Powers Boothe · Captain Pullman; David Keith · Captain Hartigan
- Genres
- drama
- Themes
- racism in the United States; determination; overcoming adversity
- Tone and mood
- inspirational
- Premise and plot tags
- biopic; military; underwater diving
- Source material / true-story basis
- true story of Master Chief Petty Officer Carl Brashear
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was noted for its inspirational performances by the lead actors.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 42% · scale: percentage · review count: 106; Metacritic · score: 56 · scale: 100 · review count: 30; CinemaScore · score: A · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film features the classic US Navy Mark V diving equipment used by the Navy from 1915 until 1985.; The film is inspired by the true story of Master Chief Petty Officer Carl Brashear.; The film was released in the UK and Ireland as Men of Honour.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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