Men of Honor Blu-ray delivers great video and audio in this overall recommended Blu-ray release
One of those rare films that grabs you by the gut and never lets go, Men of Honor was inspired
by the life of Carl Brasher (Cuba Gooding Jr.), an African American who dared to dream of
becoming a U.S. Navy Master Diver. Despite a bigoted training officer (Robert DeNiro) and a
tragic shipboard accident, Carl never gives up and achieves the impossible in an incredible
finish that will leave you cheering.
Inspirational tales aren't strangers to Hollywood; based on fact but sometimes amped up for
dramatic effect and to ensure a tearjerking final triumph for its hero after overcoming the odds,
these poignant and touching pictures have found a place within the hearts of souls of many a
moviegoers as a means of escape from the doldrums, pains, and other realities of the real world
and as a source of encouragement to achieve greater heights through the strengths of spirit and
determination at any cost. Repetitive almost to a fault and as predictable as the sunrise, it would
seem the genre couldn't sustain itself once the moviegoing public figured out that the formula
holds true with just about every single picture of the kind, but year after year
filmmakers and screenwriters happen across another can't-miss tale of the triumph of the spirit
to turn into the next heartwarming motion picture, and audiences continue to flock to each every
offering. The staying power of the Inspirational Drama has become almost the
stuff of legend, and as the real world -- as it has, as it does, as it always will -- moves with its own
ups and downs and ebbs and flows, movies like 2000's Men of Honor offer an escape
from the
realities of life; the picture, like life, has its own series of setbacks and dangers, but the
guaranteed happy ending serves as something of a reprieve from the uncertainty of life, and the
genre, perhaps above all others, proves its worth time and again even in the face of cinema sins
that would otherwise ruin lesser films of little-to-no emotional value.
Tick, tock.
Carl Brashear (Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jerry Maguire) has
always wanted to be a Naval diver; he's worked hard as a farmhand with his father, who
encourages Carl to live his dreams and never allow them to slip away. With his father's blessing,
Carl enlists in the Navy but finds himself serving as a cook on the U.S.S. Hoist due to the
color of his skin, a position that's certainly not placing him in line to realize the "big dreams" he
has for his time in this man's Navy.
When Carl seizes a chance opportunity to demonstrate his skills as a swimmer and diver, he's
granted
a promotion to work above deck and, ultimately, he earns the opportunity to attend Diving school
where he must not only demonstrate his skills and determination but overcome classmates that,
almost to a man, set out to humiliate Carl and sabotage his career because of the color of his
skin. Further complicating matters is Carl's prejudiced instructor, William "Billy" Sunday (Robert
De Niro, Mary Shelley's
Frankenstein), who is in cahoots with the school's bigoted C.O. (Hal
Halbrook) to ruin
Carl's career. Carl proves a resilient student, fighting to bring up his grades with the help of his
girlfriend Jo (Aunjanue Ellis) while combating the tensions that accompany every step he takes.
Can Carl overcome his obstacles, or will he allow those that shun his skills, heart, and honor
because of the color of his skin to get the best of him and ruin his dreams?
As noted earlier, Men of Honor follows a very simple formula: take a character with
everything against him and, through the course of the movie, allow him to succeed against all
odds, in this case not only overcoming the supposed stigma and perceived lesser abilities that
came with the color of his skin but also another setback later in the film that jeopardizes all he's
worked for. At its core, however, Men of Honor offers an examination of the follies of
racism, the picture proving that a man's soul, determination, and honor are anything but skin
deep; there's a depth to the film and its lead character that emphasizes not only perseverance
and strength of spirit but the greater human condition where skin color is but a feature of a
covering that protects that from within which truly makes a man. Here, race is the
central factor that serves as the springboard for what is the picture's ultimate means to the end
of creating an uplifting tale; in Rudy it was a
character's small stature; in The Natural it was an
advanced age; in The Pursuit of
Happyness it was poverty. Men of Honor's message is noble and clear, but it's
ultimately not vastly superior nor drastically inferior to any other of its kind; it follows formula
precisely but still proves a meaningful and emotional picture that starts out a bit slow but
eventually makes for a stirring tale of heroism and success against incredibly difficult odds.
Unfortunately, the formula approach here proves something of a minor hindrance to the picture's
overall level of excellence; while the intent, meaning, and purpose are true, there's just not
much going on outside the point-A-to-point-B-to-point-C routine to elevate the picture from
"good" to "great." The outcome of every single plot point -- both major and minor -- are readily
predictable; a few things come as a surprise to those that don't come into the movie with a
foreknowledge of the major events in Carl Brashear's life, but even then the eventual resultant
actions and outcomes of those episodes, once they are introduced to the story, are
never once in question. Nevertheless, the picture's finale proves something of an honest
tearjerking experience, despite the never-in-doubt outcome and thanks in large part to the
performances of Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Rober De Niro. They pull out all the stops, Gooding
capturing the raw emotion of the moment and De Niro solidifying it with a stout, honest
performance that cements his character into a true hero as a man who has overcome his
prejudices when he finally sees that character is defined not by the color of his skin but
instead by a deeper and more complex infrastructure that's shared by all men, regardless of
physical
appearance. Brashear's story proves doubly rewarding for its emphasis on overcoming more than
one would-be debilitating circumstance; his courage and determination are only heightened
thanks to the picture's ability to never lose touch with the issue of racism as he
further struggles to overcome another almost equally-challenging setback. Director George
Tillman
Jr.'s
picture is fairly simple in construction, never taking any chances, but the power of the story and
the performances of his leads elevates Men of Honor to a height it shares with some of
the better pictures of its kind.
Men of Honor dives onto Blu-ray with a well-rounded 1080p transfer, housed within a
2.35:1 aspect ratio. Though the image is often plagued by some obvious speckles and
pops and moderate-to-heavy banding in underwater scenes, Fox's Blu-ray transfer otherwise
proves a solid visual experience, despite its antiquated MPEG-2 encode. The transfer often
reveals well above-average detailing, particularly on the various faces where pores, blood, sweat,
and lines take on a highly realistic texturing. Additionally, viewers will often be amazed at the
intricacies visible on the diving equipment, uniform patches and adornments, and building
façades. Men of Honor isn't the most vibrant picture out there; it's no The Young Victoria
for sure, but the copper-colored diving helmets, tan and white naval uniforms, green grasses, and
the like all make for what is a fairly natural and pleasant color scheme, each proving to be nicely
rendered on this Blu-ray. Blacks are solid, flesh tones appear accurate, and the image is almost
consistently sharp, though it sometimes looks a bit excessively so, giving a few scenes a slight
digital-like sheen; however such issues never prove much of a detriment to the high definition viewing
experience. Finally, Fox's Blu-ray transfer of Men of Honor retains a layer of grain that's
heavier in some scenes than it is in others, but it consistently lends to the image a quality
film-like appearance, adding the finishing touches to what is, on the whole, an above-average
Blu-ray
transfer.
Men of Honor surfaces onto Blu-ray with a well-integrated DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless
soundtrack. Proficient in every area, the track supports the movie very well, whether in the more
adventurous and dangerous action-style scenes or the many dialogue-intense dramatic segments.
There's certainly no lack of aggressiveness with this one when the film requires a potent audio
output; water splashes and spills effortlessly about the listening area with both power and clarity,
while underwater scenes nicely recreate the sense of depth and pressure as water seems to
surround the listener. Additionally, the track packs a potent low end; it's not as tight and natural as
the more impressive of lossless tracks, but explosions and the shifting of a sunken vessel
send heavy reverberations through the soundstage. Men of Honor's track also delivers
strong atmospherics; a constant buzzing of crickets in chapter four nicely fills the soundstage, while
a bar scene in chapter nine offers the clanking of glasses, the light din of country music, and
smacking pool balls in the background. Also sporting consistently intelligible and crisp dialogue
reproduction, Men of Honor offers a balanced and fine-tuned lossless listening experience.
Fox's Blu-ray release of Men of Honor splashes up a commentary track and several
additional minor goodies. The commentary track features Director George Tillman, Jr.,
Actor Cuba Gooding, Jr., Producer Robert Teitel, and Writer Scott Marshall Smith. For a group
commentary, this one is surprisingly tight, interesting, and well-constructed. The participants all
demonstrate a genuine appreciation for the material and the story of Carl Brashear and speak on
the quality and camaraderie of the cast. They also divulge some secrets from the set, discuss the
themes of
the story, and provide plenty of additional insights. This is a high-quality commentary that offers
a nice flow and plenty
of relevant information. Fans will want to give this one a listen. Also included is a pop-up trivia
track that covers real-life facts and information from the film; the Men of Honor
theatrical trailer (1080p, 2:26); and additional 1080p trailers for Flight of the Phoenix,
Courage Under Fire,
The Omen 666, and
X-Men: The Last
Stand.
Men of Honor isn't the greatest of the crop of Inspirational pictures, but it's a solid effort
despite an absolutely transparent plot, but then again, if it were to play out any other way, it
wouldn't be an uplifting tale or stay true to the real-life events that make it a relevant and important
story to tell. The genre is by its very nature and definition a victim of absolute
predictability, but such films also have going for them an intrinsic value that supersedes what is
otherwise a cardinal Hollywood sin, and that's their ability to inspire. Men of Honor does
just that; its message is valid and relevant and its intentions are true. Structurally, however, the
picture never deviates from a most basic production both in front of and behind the camera.
Nevertheless, fans of Inspirational cinema will
find plenty to enjoy here, and they'll want to have a box of tissues handy for the picture's expected
but no less powerful, gripping, and moving finale. An early release in the life of the Blu-ray format,
Men of Honor looks and sounds better than many discs being released today. Despite the
MPEG-2 encode and the constraints of a BD-25 disc, Fox's visual presentation is solid, and at times
even gorgeous. Likewise, the lossless DTS track impresses, but the disc does lack a thorough
supplemental package. Nevertheless, Men of Honor -- particularly if purchased at an
aggressive sale price -- is a film and a Blu-ray disc worth adding to the collection. Recommended.
