Black Sea (Cinema Screening)

(Spoiler free)

Black Sea is one of the few films left in 2014 that I have been really looking forward to, the trailers have managed to grab my full attention and ever since seeing them I have been excited to see it. Black Sea looked liked a solid action movie with an unusual setting, paired with the lead actor being Jude Law I was intrigued to see the result.

Much as to be expected Black Sea is the solid action movie that is presented in the trailers. Jude Law heads up the cast here and with his more than convincing Scottish accent delivers a strong performance. No one else within the cast really stands out apart from Law but that isn’t to say that the standard of acting is poor, it is good and believable performances are given across the board. The trailers present Black Sea as The Hunger Games in a submarine, with the crew killing each other off in a fight for survival. There is some of this, but not to the extent that the trailer makes out, I was expecting  a Russians vs. British showdown between the crew and when this didn’t happen I was a little disappointed – entirely the fault of the trailer though, not the film. What comes in its place is just as enjoyable, the quest for this lost gold and simply to make it back home in one piece. Black Sea encapsulates so many different genres, its an adventure, an action and a survival movie and each of these aspects plays so well off the other making for an exciting ride. Unfortunately the special effects don’t really match the standard of action and do detract from some scenes, whether it was the submarine diving underwater or small scale explosions the film never really looks that great.

Anyway this is only an issue on a few occasions and shouldn’t take you out of the film too much. I really enjoyed the plot, it was simple enough to start with and it is built on as the story unfolds. It deals with very grand subjects such as the war but it also takes times to focus on individuals and lets us into their past. This is mainly done through flashback sequences, whilst they are effective in informing us of past times I don’t think they quite achieve the emotional response that they would have been hoping for. Nonetheless the film isn’t really about the past, it is about the there and then and the action is thick and fast. You never feel comfortable for the crew and I imagine this is to try and replicate how they were feeling. The variety of scenes that are created within such a small space was quite something and ended up being a really enjoyable watch. There are also a few moments of humour throughout the movie which help to build character, in contrast to this there are a few moments to make you jump too, this variety was great.

Black Sea doesn’t really do anything new or that out of the ordinary but it doesn’t need to. The cast perform well, lead by Law and the characters had enough variety to make for an exciting story. The action is solid and keeps you entertained from the start to the end of the movie. There enough ups and downs (literally) to demand your attention but without becoming monotonous which could have been a danger for this film. You don’t have to worry about being left with a sinking feeling with this action movie, it stays afloat quite nicely.

BIGGEST FLAW – Poor effects

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT – Solid action

Rating – 8/10