Black Sea

“Black Sea” is a submarine thriller about a submarine captain who, after losing his job with a salvage company, assembles a crew of other laid-off employees to search for a WWII submarine on the bottom of the ocean floor purported to be loaded with gold. The deal is that each crew member will receive an equal share of the treasure, but, as the mission progresses, members start to realize that, if fewer members survive, each member would receive a greater percentage of the gold. This leads to greed and violence, and the morals of each crew member are put to the test.

The movie has a suspenseful and engaging plot, but a very high amount of objectionable content. The script is profanity-heavy, with obscenities in at least half of the lines, the majority being f-words. There are at least eighteen irreverent uses of God or Christ’s name, including two uses of GD, and there is an irreverent image of a cross.

Violence is not pervasive; however, the scenes of violence include stabbings and incinerations, sometimes with detailed gore. No sexual activity is depicted on-screen, but sexual intercourse outside of marriage is discussed and condoned in generalized terms. There is mention of a character’s suicide from prescription drug overdose, and characters are shown drinking several times.

Some positive morals can also be observed. Greed is shown to have grave consequences, and a crew member courageously speaks up to protect a man who is about to be shot. There is also an example of willingness to sacrifice one’s own life to save others. But I have seen movies exhibit these values more strongly with much less objectionable content along the way, which is why I do not recommend “Black Sea.”

One thing I can say is that, if you watch the movie, you may feel a sudden appreciation for walking on land.

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.