[yasr_overall_rating]
A deep cover operative awakens to find himself imprisoned in a CIA black site on a submarine.
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren first appeared together onscreen in the highly enjoyable “Universal Soldier” back in 1992. Since then, they have appeared opposite each other numerous times. In “Black Water,” they play allies as opposed to enemies which they portrayed in their previous ventures but it doesn’t amount to much as Lundgren, listed as Van Damme’s co-star, is only in the film for about 10 minutes. His name was obviously added to the cast as an incentive for action fans to flock to see the movie and if watching Lundgren in action is your thing, you are sure to be disappointed. He appears in an anti-climactic fight scene and then pretty much disappears for the rest of the film. Van Damme fares much better as this is his starring vehicle but even he is reduced to shooting guns as opposed to kicking ass and I guess being submerged deep underwater in a submarine, will inhibit you from doing so.
Van Damme plays Scott Wheeler, a CIA operative who is deep under cover. When a mission he’s working on goes awry, and his partner is apparently killed, he tries to check in with his superior officer but when he turns up at the meeting place and finds him dead, before he can escape, he is rendered unconscious. When he comes to, he realizes he is in a military black site which just happens to be on a submarine. He is surprised to find his division chief, Edward Rhodes (Al Sapienza), on board and Rhodes informs him that in order for him to prevent the team of mercenaries who brought him here, from killing him, he needs to tell him where the flash drive is from his botched mission, which contains highly classified files. Wheeler has his reservations about Rhodes and gives him false information and no sooner than he has, Rhodes tries to kill him. He manages to escape into the depths of the vessel along with Cassie Taylor (Jasmine Waltz), a soldier assigned to the submarine and between them, they must formulate a plan if they are to see daylight again.
The plot is strictly generic and borrows heavily from “Die Hard” and while the actual setting is somewhat unique, the action and dialogue are uninspiring. Considering the narrow constraints aboard a submarine, Van Damme does not get to perform his customary splits or roundhouse kicks, instead, he gets to shoot guns and perform the occasional fistfight. Lundgren plays Marco, Wheeler’s neighbor on the sub, a mysterious German undercover agent who Wheeler releases on the condition that he helps them escape but once he does, he disappears from the movie altogether and that’s a shame because Lundgren’s enigmatic character, as brief as his appearance is, would have made for a far more interesting story. Only recommended for die-hard Van Damme and Lundgren fans.
Available on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital), DVD & Digital August 21st
