Black Sea

The vast legacy of submarine movies won’t stay afloat nor sink based on Black Sea, a waterlogged thriller that generates some moderate historical intrigue but ventures into familiar territory.

Indeed, the visual approach of director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) generates some tension within the claustrophobic setting, but the script stays on the surface instead of exploring the depths of the material.

The film centers on Robinson (Jude Law), a specialist in marine salvage whose job situation has gone south, so he organizes an expedition to find a sunken U-boat at the bottom of the titular body of water that’s rumored to contain a fortune in gold bars, the result of a World War II agreement between Hitler and Stalin gone wrong.

So Robinson assembles a half-British, half-Russian crew for the perilous treasure hunt in a rickety vessel that tests both the seafaring skills and mental fortitude of all on board. Eventually, the journey is compounded by dissent among the blue-collar men eager to get their share. Meanwhile, Robinson is forced to come to grips with his own motives, especially when he finds out one of his colleagues has ties to his past.

The gritty film features some sharp dialogue and a handful of tense sequences, none more than a treacherous attempt to transfer some heavy cargo (no spoilers here) from the seabed into the sub with a procedure that resembles a space walk.

The screenplay by newcomer Dennis Kelly also knows its way around a submarine, from the menial tasks and periphery crew members needed to undertake such a mission. Yet despite a solid international ensemble, the film strands those characters in strained scenarios that feel contrived and emotionally false.

With regard to history, the script is a speculative conversation starter — with a premise that tosses around the names of some world leaders — that probably doesn’t have much basis in fact.

That’s not really important, but the film does succumb to a series of improbable twists that prevent Black Sea from immersing itself in sustained tension. It won’t make you forget about some of its predecessors, yet might cause you to recall them more fondly by comparison.

Rated R, 114 minutes.