Scott Wheeler, played by Jean Claude Van Damme, is a secret agent who awakens in a cell on a submarine after his latest mission falls apart. During his interrogation by those holding him captive, it becomes clear that there’s a lot more going on with his mission than he first thought. Other inhabitants of the submarine include the mysterious prisoner named Marco (Dolph Lundgren), a company of mercenaries, Wheeler’s mentor Agent Rhodes (Al Sapienza), and trainee Agent Cassie Taylor (Jasmine Waltz).
BLACK WATER is not exactly a very good movie. The story is cliche and predictable, which is fine because as the action is the main draw here. The problem is, that action is as lackluster as the story. The sound design was another immediate thing that caught my attention due to how ineffective it was. The gunshots have no impact and there are no pieces from the soundtrack that are memorable.
Dolph Lundgren only participates in one action scene in the last 20 minutes of the movie and spends the rest of his time locked up in a cell sitting around. JCVD has quite a few more, but sadly the cinematography is so subpar that his martial arts ability is not shown off very well at all. There are only one or two hand-to-hand fights anyway, with most of the action coming from claustrophobic shootouts taking place in the tunnels of the submarine. That claustrophobic feeling is appropriate for the setting but it does not make for very interesting camerawork during these action scenes.
With Marco locked up for the majority of the movie, it falls on Wheeler and Taylor to hold things down as the lead characters. JCVD does a decent job, but the chemistry between him and Waltz just is not strong enough to hold the production together. There is a stiffness between the two actors that is hard to describe but becomes very noticeable midway through the movie. This is particularly apparent once Marco is freed and for the few brief scenes that he works together with Wheeler in. Lundgren and JCVD have been working together for a long time and it would have been nice for Lundgren not to have been wasted like this.
Dolph isn’t the only wasted opportunity in BLACK WATER either. The story had the potential to be an interesting thriller. The very first scene has Wheeler jolting awake without a clue of what has happened, creating a sense of mystery for him and the audience. The problem is, this mystery is ruined almost instantly. The submarine setting is an interesting one as well, but nothing is done with it. This movie could just as easily have taken place in an office building or a military base and very little would have needed to change.
There are no standout actors nor are there any interesting character moments that would allow any of the cast to shine. The focus of the movie is solely on the action which, as stated before, is just not that impressive. The only entertainment value comes from just how mediocre this production turns out to be. It becomes outright laughable by the end, but not quite laughable enough to garner a recommendation. BLACK WATER unfortunately gets a 2/5.
