I first heard of the USS Indianapolis when I was watching Jaws. One of the characters mentions that he was on the ship when it was torpedoed by the Japanese. The scene is quite long and I remember it impressed me as I’d never heard of the Indianapolis story before. It’s an incredible story. So, obviously, when Lionsgate UK offered a review DVD of the movie USS Indianapolis, I accepted gladly. How I wish my expectations had been met. Unfortunately, they haven’t. Or not fully. I’ve seen a lot of people bash this film and while I have to agree, it has terrible moments, it’s still watchable. And interesting, especially if you don’t know the story. And there’s Tom Sizemore.

The USS Indianapolis was the ship that delivered the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. It was a secret mission and that’s why they had no escort. On their way back from the successful mission, they were torpedoed by a Japanese ship and sunk within a few minutes. Of the 1,190 men aboard, 300 went under with the ship. Over 900 men landed in the water. This would have been bad in any case but it was especially horrible in this situation because the waters were swarming with sharks. As if that wasn’t enough, because they had been on a secret mission, it took almost a week until someone finally decided to send a rescue team.

Almost 600 men died from exhaustion, hunger, thirst or shark attacks. I’m sure this was a horrific experience and considering the importance of the mission one can really say they have been let down. Once back, the story wasn’t over. As there had been so many deaths but the war was over, it was decided to use the captain (Nicholas Cage) as a scape goat.

This is an interesting story and a problematic one and it could have been a great movie. Unfortunately someone thought that the facts were not enough. The subtitle tells you that the makers of the film tried to turn it into a story of heroism instead of just telling the story of a tragedy and an injustice. It’s not heroic to survive in shark infested waters. It’s either a miracle or a proof or resilience but not heroic. The mawkish, sentimental tone was quite off putting. Especially in the beginning and the end. Both those parts are very short. What remains is the long middle section about the men in the water and that was suspenseful and dramatic. The best bit however was the very end, in which we see a few of the real survivors of this catastrophe and hear them talk about it. That’s a bit like the veteran section in Band of Brothers or The Pacific. I liked that. That was a great idea.

What annoys me a bit is that it wouldn’t have taken a lot to make this movie better than it is. The tone should have been sober throughout and the dialogue would have needed some serious editing. It was mostly tacky bordering on laughable. That said – if you’re looking for a war movie, especially with an anti-war statement – this isn’t the movie for you. The fact that this mission made Hiroshima possible isn’t really much of a topic. On the contrary, we’re led to believe that it was the only way to stop the Japanese. But if you like true stories and action movies – watch it. It’s entertaining.

As for the actors – this isn’t Nicholas Cage’s best role. He’s not saying much. All he does is brooding and that mostly looks weird. But there is Tom Sizemore. I’m very fond of Tom Sizemore and he doesn’t disappoint.

USS Indianapolis is available for download as of December 19 and on DVD and BluRay as of Januray 9 2017.