The single scene in the movie Jaws where Robert Shaw scares the crap out of Richard Dreyfus as he describes the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the terrifying shark aftermath, has more truth, terror, realism and great acting than the entire movie USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage. This film's amazing true story was hijacked along the way to make room for fictional back lines of power, love and racial tensions that all fall flat. Anachronisms abound--FNG is from the Vietnam war, the neon sign is not of the period, and Wayne Gretzky wouldn't make his "miss 100 shots you don't take" quote for another 50 years. It's like the scriptwriter used Google to write the script but forgot to use Google to fact check it. I wanted to like this movie, to pass along a great history lesson to my son watching with me, but from the first wobbly special effect to when we gave up and went to bed as the wrong shark species showed up, USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage never failed to disappoint. At least we know how it ends and at least there's Google to get it right and Jaws to tell it better.
Review of USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage
