2000, R, 128 minutes

What's bizarre about a movie like Men of Honor is that if you didn't know it was all based on a true story, it might seem dull or even self-important. Fortunately, it is based on a true story, and while the acting and the drama might be a little over the top at times, the heart at the center of this film makes it worth watching.

The story behind Men of Honor is basically the life of Carl Brashear (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a black man who doesn't want to end up working the fields his entire life like his father. The meat of the plot is set during the early 1940's, when Carl joins the Navy in search of a future unknown to him. On board a ship where he has been assigned to the kitchen, he is inspired by the bravery of one of the ship's divers, Master Chief Billy Sunday (Robert De Niro). Being a black man, becoming a navy diver is next to impossible, but Carl pursues his dream anyway, passing over a seemingly endless series of hurdles set in his path.

The reason Men of Honor works as a film is because the characters aren't cut and dry like you might expect, especially from a film dealing with racist undertones. Carl Brashear has his own characteristic flaws like the real man he is, and the white men around him aren't all portrayed as evil, prejudiced pigs. What I liked most was the realism of Robert De Niro's character Billy Sunday. During the story we see him transform from Brashear's number one enemy to his ally, but not because of some movie-like epiphany where he realizes he had it all wrong. Sunday may be a stubborn man and a racist -- the product of the society he lives in -- but he and Brashear find a mutual respect for one another as navy divers, and it is this which brings them together. With Hollywood's tendency to wash over the truth for dramatic purposes and the all-mighty buck, I was shocked that this story was ever filmed the way that it was, which is definitely commendable. The major flaw, of course, is that by sticking to the truth the attempts at heavy drama often backfire, but in the end I was able to accept that because it's a true story.

As for the cast, Cuba Gooding Jr. gives a solid performance as Carl Brashear, displaying a wide range of emotions. And although he certainly does a good job with each an every scene he appears in, there was something that kept his performance from reaching that next level. Seeing as I can't figure out what it was, the fault more than likely lies in the script and not the actor. The biggest surprise in this movie, believe it or not, is the performance from Robert De Niro. After seeing so many different sides of him I thought it would be impossible to see a new one, but somehow he manages to do it. Billy Sunday is a stubborn, ill-tempered man, and De Niro nails his character perfectly. Charlize Theron fills the role of Billy Sunday's wife and is basically useless to the entire story, so as a result her performance isn't much to talk about.

Men of Honor might seem like a lame title for a movie, but in this case it really does fit. Not to say the movie is lame, but that it displays two men who are essentially good at the core and consumed by their personal honor, which they take great pride in. This film isn't award-worthy or something you'll want to see over and over again, but it is worth your time at least once.