Men of Honour (2000)

Cuba Gooding Jr plays a black son of a Kentucky sharecropper, whose father has urged him to pursue his dreams. He joins the US Navy and attempts to become a navy diver, but encounters racism at every turn. His training officer (played by Robert De Niro) wants to inhibit his progress, but slowly develops respect for him over time. 

Inspired by real-world figure of Master Chief Petty Officer Carl Brashear, this is a mostly well-made film. There are some dramatic sequences showing the dangers of the divers' underwater assignments. At times it seems a little sappy, perhaps because of the choice of music, but the storytelling and acting lift it above average status. The two male leads are both excellent, and they make their characters suitably convincing to bring this true story to life.