I found it pretty interesting, and it isn't often that anything good comes out of hollywoood recently. Still, well acted and generally interesting.
My DVD collection: imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=19776148
THE FOX
#27
This is a very powerful film with great acting and moving scenes that have inspired me throughout my life. Films rarely do this to me but the scene with carl and Sunday in the barracks where he smashes the radio is a very moving scene and especially the one where the final underwater exam is made nearly impossible for him to pass and hes down there for hours and hours.
I dont understand why the rating is so low but frankly I dont care because you dont have to agree with the ratings on this site and there are plenty of films in the top 250 that are so overated its unreal!
This will always be a firm favourite of mine that is at least in my top 20.
9.1/10
[deleted]
Awesome movie which got bad critics really undeserved since it's a great story about the first black diver
im back !!!
probably the plot, though nobody has mentioned it. It's been a while since I've seen the whole thing, so correct me on my foggy details, but my problem is this: I don't feel that DeNiro's character redeemed himself at the end by supporting the black guy and getting him on the Navy Diving Team. I mean how does that make any sense if he was the one who caused him to lose the leg? I'm a forgiving guy, but I don't get the warm fuzzy feeling at the end like we're "supposed" to. Hollywood knows what sells: emotional rollercoaster rides. Only this time they sacrifice the quality of the plot with their thinly disguised attempts at manipulating our emotions... just not natural for me. Overall, worth a watch, but 6.2 or whatever you said is a fair rating.
sharehe didnt cause him to loose the leg.
movie is one of my favorites, very insperational and i too dont understand the low rating. i thought for sure it would make the top 250
I was disappointed because, while even the most hardened cynic would be inspired by Carl Brashear's struggle, the filmmakers seemed intent on piling on melodramatic embellishments. The insane diving training center commander, Mr. Pappy, and the weaselly Captain Hanks were so over the top that I almost stopped watching. Having spent several years in the military and having been before numerous boards, I can say that Capt. Hanks' behavior would not have been tolerated in real life. I'm sure he was a world-class jerk in real life. The filmamkers should have had enough confidence in their viewers' intelligence to play him straight.
I think the best point in the film was the fact that Brashear and Sunday came from almost identical circumstances. Brashear had the guts to keep himself straight while Sunday was constantly battling his demons and leaning on alcohol.
Good points Greenteeth, I was trying to quantify what I did and didnt like and you hit the nail on the head.
I think you have to admire the story and the parallels between Brashear and Sunday, I liked. Though it was, as you say, overly melodramatic and did have a TV movie feel.
Hanks definately didnt feel right to me either in the context of this story, he was just too much of an a...hole, it all seemed tooo personal to him -when he was only supposed to be doing his job. They just seemed to keep having a baddie in the film to play against the Brashear goodie - but never making the baddie believable. It annoys me also that filmakers dont have enough confidence in their audiences to keep these things simple.
There are obvious similarities to the Douglas Bader story - which IMHO is done much better than this in Reach for the Sky. The problems he encounters are far more subtle but you still get the feeling that he has climbed mountains to get what he wants. My only problem with that movie is that Bader was supposed to be an absolute bas-ta*d (I wonder if Brashear was too in real life) and they only touch on this side of his personality.
I dont think it was a terrible film - it just could have been better and its all been done before.