Cage commands a sinking ship in the soggy tribute to one of WWII’s most tragic true stories, “USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage”.
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IN THIS CORNER: KELLY MINTZER
The Lowdown
I’ve seen enough World War II movies to last me a lifetime. I worry we’ve made all the damn self-congratulatory films without actually internalizing the lesson—see: where we’re at right now. So I can’t say I entered USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (a needlessly cumbersome title) with much enthusiasm. And I was right not to.
I’ve made perhaps too many allusions to Godzilla Minus One—one of the best movies of the past ten to twenty years—since having seen it a couple of months ago, but I have to bring it up again. Because I thought there was no original approach to WWII left, and then, bam. Godzilla fucking rocked my world.
USS Indianapolis, etc, was several steps backward.
Don’t get me wrong; there’s a powerful movie in there. It’s just that said powerful movie isn’t given even remotely a chance to shine. Had this movie taken the perspective of “look how the fucking American military machine screwed over its own” in a much stronger, more determined way, I’d have been impressed. I’d have felt like it had something to say.
However, that stance, that the military-industrial complex sacrificed its own in the name of saving face, is only explored in a very cursory and surface way. The rest of the movie is dedicated to pretty shallow, standard survival movie nonsense.
Look, I’m shocked at how little tension a movie about soldiers trying to survive in shark-infested waters managed to be.
But it felt…cheap? Contrived? I know it’s based on a true story, and I did no research to realize how little of it was dramatized, but somehow it ended up feeling like every other survival movie, designed to elicit tears, just worse.
I want to touch on a couple of things that increased my ire toward this subpar film.
Despite all its flaws—and there are MANY, I still cried like a big, stupid cream puff at the end. That’s only because knowing real people suffered in unimaginable ways always hits me hard.
Please do not let my soft heart convince you that this is a good movie; it’s not.
The Cage Factor:
I know I’ve barely acknowledged Nic Cage in this, but that’s because he made so very little of an impression. He was sort of… nothing in this. He wasn’t bad, he wasn’t good; he was just sort of static. This is a rat in a cage for me. I hated it.
AND IN THIS CORNER: STEPHANIE MALONE
The Lowdown
On paper, USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage should have been an absolute banger. It’s based on a harrowing true story. It’s a hybrid war film/disaster-survival thriller with a massive sinking ship and a sh*tload of sharks. And it stars Nicolas Cage. Seriously, what more could you want?
What you could want more is a competently made film with a compelling plot that respects its audience and its subject matter.
Directed by Mario Van Peebles, USS Indianapolis tells the horrific real-life story of the American naval disaster that led to hundreds of sailors stranded in shark-infested waters after delivering parts for the atomic bomb in World War II. It’s a tragic, under-told piece of history—ripe for cinematic treatment.
But what could have been a powerful war drama instead becomes an epic misfire, bogged down by bargain-bin CGI, clunky writing, and a bloated runtime (over two hours) that feels like you’re drifting aimlessly at sea.
Characters speak in inspirational clichés, plot points are telegraphed with zero nuance, and dramatic beats land with all the subtlety of a torpedo. There’s a bizarre, half-baked romantic subplot and some clumsily inserted racial tension that feels more like an attempt to pad the runtime than serve the story.
The direction lacks cohesion, suspense, or urgency. The pacing is sluggish, taking far too long to establish the ensemble of characters, none of whom are given enough depth to make their eventual fates feel meaningful. This is especially egregious considering the source material—a real-life maritime tragedy with built-in drama and emotional stakes.
On the plus side, the film ends with gravitas, but that’s not enough to turn the tide of opinion. Survivors of the USS Indianapolis deserved a more thoughtful, nuanced portrayal of their unimaginable ordeal.
Want a far more compelling way to spend 90 minutes of your time? Check out this incredible podcast that dives deep into the true story that inspired the film.
The Cage Factor
When it comes to Nicolas Cage’s wildly unpredictable filmography, USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage feels like a missed signal flare, aiming high but crashing into the sea. In a career full of soaring highs and wonderfully chaotic lows, this 2016 war drama lands firmly in the latter camp, but without the unhinged charm that makes Cage’s misfires fun to watch.
Here, he’s subdued, solemn, and marooned in a film that can’t decide if it wants to be a reverent historical epic or a Syfy Channel thriller with sharks.
Cage plays Captain Charles B. McVay III with a sense of solemn duty. He doesn’t phone it in, but there’s also a noticeable restraint. He has moments of quiet dignity, especially in the final act when dealing with McVay’s infamous court-martial. But those moments are fleeting, and it often feels like Cage is being asked to carry the film’s emotional weight entirely on his own.
And even he—Oscar-winner, meme king, eternal wildcard—can’t shoulder this shipwreck solo.
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