In MEN OF HONOR, Carl Brashear(Cuba Gooding Jr.) grows up poor as the son of a sharecropper in Kentucky. With his dad's encouragement ("Never quit. Be the best.") Carl joins the U.S. Navy to better his life. Always a fantastic swimmer and diver in the neighborhood pond, Carl wants to join the elite group of Navy Divers (brave guys who, wearing heavy metal suits, pumped with air by hose from the surface, perform rescue and salvage operations at sea). But, a Black man has never been accepted.

After writing many letters, Carl is accepted at the Navy Dive School where his prejudiced instructor Billy Sunday (Robert De Niro) a once-famous Navy Diver made instructor against his will, makes life miserable for Carl expecting him to quit. Carl endures contant racial prejudice but still shines as the best in the class. When his inability to read holds him back, he finds someone to teach him (medical student Jo, played by Aunjanue Ellis) whom he falls for and marries. Finally, Carl's bravery and integrity win over even Billy Sunday, who learns to respect him.

Despite all odds, Carl graduates from the Diving School and goes on to have a proud career as a diver. When Carl suffers an injury that cripples him, it's Billy Sunday who becomes his unexpected supporter, fighting beside him to buck the system in a gruelling final test. Carl is finally allowed to dive again and achieves a life-long goal; being made Master Diver and Master Chief, the highest rank in the Navy for an enlisted man.

MEN OF HONOR is an inspirational film dealing with the hard issue of racial prejudice in the military. Carl Brashear is a real man who acted as advisor on this film of his life story. Cuba Gooding is excellent in the role, making us cry with Brashear as he is unfairly treated and celebrate when he beats the system! It's also satisfying to watch De Niro's character change from a prejudiced bully to a strong, sympathetic supporter of a man he once hated. This is a character film but it still has moments of suspenseful action as divers are in jeopardy. MEN OF HONOR presents a strong moral center and a gives filmgoers a wonderful character to root for.