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The true story of the crew of the USS Indianapolis, who were terrorized by sharks after surviving their ship's sinking in the last days of WWII.
BIOPIC/DRAMA/WAR

USS Indianapolis:
​Men of Courage 
(2016)

Directed by Mario Van Peebles

Written by Cam Cannon and Richard Rionda Del Castro

Starring Nicolas Cage, Tom Sizemore, Thomas Jane, ​Matt Lanter, Adam Scott Miller, Craig Tate, Callard Harris, James Remar,
​Yutaka Takeuchi, Brian Presley

Connor Eyzaguirre
September 24, 2018
8/10​
The story of the USS Indianapolis is so grisly and unbelievable that today, most people know about it as Quint's scary story in Jaws. In truth, the harrowing tale of the survivors of one of the U.S. Navy's most devastating tragedies is incredible. Nearly 900 men lost their lives from the initial sinking, and then from the constant shark attacks. This film tells their story, albeit with an inexperienced hand belonging to  the science guy from Jaws: The Revenge. Remarkably, the film is engaging and well-acted. I think with a proper face-lift and some work on the CGI, this could've been a real winner.

Nicolas Cage portrays Captain Charles McVay, the leader of the USS Indianapolis's secret mission to deliver the Hiroshima bomb to the Philippines. Cage puts in a strong performance that unfortunately gets lost in a maelstrom of horrendous CGI sharks and a lot of unnecessary subplots akin to 2001's Pearl Harbor. Once the ship is sunk, though, the entire film changes from a war drama to a horror thriller as we watch the survivors try to fight off an endless wave of hungry sharks as they pray for rescue. The tension is palpable and the victims unpredictable.

The third act deals with the political fallout of the disaster, with the military attempting to place the blame on McVay and driving him to suicide. The whole story is tragic from beginning to end and I think, for the most part, this film did it justice. It's not a masterpiece in any sense of the word, but it's thoughtful, captivating, and surprisingly intense and poignant. I'd say it's one of the better films to come out of the Nic Cage paycheck gig era.

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  • Home
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