Black Sea
Focus Features | Release Date: January 23, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
13
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJan 30, 2015
Black Sea gets the job done, accomplishing all that it sets out to do -- and better than most January thrillers. Read full review
60
CineVueBen NicholsonDec 8, 2014
Certain sequences are handled exceptionally... but others feel overblown and some characters underwhelm. That’s not to say that Black Sea is not an enjoyable – and at times, enthralling – aquatic adventure, it just never quite thrills as much as it spills, and flounders during some of its more emotional beats. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeyDec 8, 2014
It’s hard to decide if Black Sea is a good idea put over with sub-par execution, or an iffy idea handled as well as possible in the circumstances. Read full review
60
VarietyGuy LodgeDec 8, 2014
As ruggedly crafted as you’d expect from director Kevin Macdonald, with a sturdy ensemble led by Jude Law as a submarine captain of formidable sangfroid, the film nonetheless never quite sparks to life. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJan 30, 2015
Law often looks angry and frazzled onscreen. This time he looks angry and sure of himself. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJan 29, 2015
There’s some first-rate camerawork aboard the sub, that strong lead performance from Law and one nifty plot twist. It’s a shame the script gives us one of the most incompetent and ridiculous submarine crews this side of “Down Periscope.” Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen HoldenJan 22, 2015
The story loses credibility as it goes along, as the body count escalates, and Robinson’s solutions to life-and-death crises grow increasingly far-fetched. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 21, 2015
His hair is thinning and his features are thickening, and Jude Law is evolving into a more interesting actor as this happens. He’s more at home in tough guy roles such as “Dom Hemingway.” The gritty submarine thriller Black Sea is his latest one of those. But in this case, it’s a salty performance that seems just beyond his grasp. Read full review
50
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekJan 20, 2015
Black Sea is so almost-terrific that it's ultimately more disappointing than a movie that's merely badly or carelessly made. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterNeil YoungJan 20, 2015
Director Macdonald, in his sixth outing of the decade including documentaries, likewise handles proceedings with a self-effacing, uninspired competence. Read full review
50
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonDec 12, 2014
It'll pass a couple of hours on a rainy afternoon without too much trouble. But whether as an adventure tale, a thriller, or a morality play, Black Sea never quite makes a compelling enough case for its existence when better examples of the submarine genre are already out there. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJan 28, 2015
Black Sea is cluttered and claustrophobic in all the right ways, and it doubles as a watery jeremiad against global corporate malfeasance. Still, you walk away from the film with the niggling sense that the story never quite holds your attention the way it should. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsGraham FullerJan 22, 2015
That’s the problem with Law’s submarine skipper, Robinson, in the action thriller Black Sea. He’s driven and dynamic enough, but he can’t keep the sensitivity from his eyes. Read full review
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