Men of Honor

REVIEW
Based on the heroic life of Carl Brashear, the Navy's first African-American master chief diver, Men of Honor breaks no new ground in the military drama genre, but does offer a sincere, honorable account of one man's determination in pursuing his dreams in the face of racial intolerance. Gooding is well-cast as Brashear, the son of a Kentucky sharecropper, who is accepted to the Navy's diving school. As the first black student enrolled there, he becomes the victim of rampant discrimination. On his case the most is his alcoholic instructor, Billy Sunday (De Niro), who plants a series of obstacles in the young man's path. More inspiring than dramatic, the story follows Brashear's struggle to overcome a stacked deck. Gooding and De Niro are evenly matched, each making the most of a by-the-books screenplay which nevertheless stirs the emotions.