Black Sea (2014)

Clear the desk and clear the decks. There's a fabled Nazi U-Boat down in the depths of the ocean, aboard is gold, lots of gold. So it's time for a not so motley crew of submariners to go forth - in an antiquated submarine - and try to set themselves up for life. Naturally nothing goes as planned, there are hidden agendas, rival factions within, claustrophobia reigns supreme, will anyone survive? Will you want any of them to survive? Black Sea is not without problems, though the complaints about credibility and believability not being available? Well these are surely from folk who don't watch enough of, or understand the workings of, genre cinema of this ilk. Kevin Macdonald (director) and Dennis Kelly (writer) have crafted a tight and efficient submarine thriller. Characterisations are clichéd, with nods to other genre type of films evident, but the group dynamics pulse with danger and the inevitable peril sequences strike the requisite suspenseful chords. Black Sea doesn't define or reinvent the submarine thriller wheel, it just keeps the rotor shafts turning. Strong casting and earthy photography help matters, to make this - ropey accents aside - better than a time waster of a viewing. 6.5/10

Laid off from his job, "Robinson" (Jude Law) gets wind of a rumoured sunken horde of Nazi gold at the bottom of the Black Sea. He manages to cobble together some funds, recruit the ultimate in disparate crew - half British and half Russian, and somewhat implausibly obtain a WWII submarine that is only really held together by rust. Off they go in search of their loot and, as you might expect, tempers and superstitions run riot as the claustrophobic environment and cultural clashes cause difficulties for the increasingly isolated skipper. At times the imagery is quite effective at conveying some of the peril as their boat lurches from one disaster to another, but for the most part this is a really poorly constructed drama let down at pretty much every turn by Law's over-acting, his intermittent Scots accent, some very ropey dialogue and a cast of people who would usually perform better - Ben Mendelsohn and David Threfall, especially - but who really don't deliver anything substantial in this really cheap and cheerful looking effort. Some of the submarine interiors are authentic enough - a real one was used - but that can't really compensate for the lacklustre and repetitive narrative that can have but one conclusion. Not one of Kevin MacDonald's finer works - despite the decent cast.