Men Of Honor (2000) *

Directed by George Tillman Jr. With Cuba Gooding Jr, Robert de Niro and Charlize Theron. The true story of Carl Brashear, an African-American navy diver who has overcome incredible obstacles (such as racism and a loss of a leg) to become a Master Chief, Navy’s highest rank for an enlisted man. Very conventional and unsurprising, the film follows the familiar routine of countless “soldier’s training” movies, where the recruit is abused and humiliated by his superior in the first hour, only to gain his respect and admiration in the second. Simply put, Men of Honor is to racism what G.I.Jane was to sexism - Hollywood’s oversimplified way of dealing with a hot-button issue.