Scoot McNairy in Black Sea (Giles Keyte/Focus Features )

Who knew the world needed a new Steve McQueen? Who knew that Jude Law, of all people, would pick up the mantle of the thinking person’s action star?  Black Sea is a combo submarine/heist film that is vastly entertaining. It’s gritty, dirty, and occasionally very funny. It posits itself an elegy for the manly working man who gets shunt aside in the 21st century economy. But really, that’s a gloss. It’s about some manly misfits looking to get rich to remedy the various problems in their life. Black Sea beats with an old-fashioned heart, God bless it.

Jude Law plays Robinson, a former British Navy captain who has worked with a salvage company for several years. He has lost his wife and kid to another man, a “posh” man, as Robinson describes him, and he is tremendously bitter. As the film opens, he is unceremoniously fired. He’s done a great job, but there’s just no place for him anymore. A friend and colleague hears of a submarine wreck off the coast that contains about a kajillion dollars in gold. Nazi gold (a wonderful touch). So Jude collects a disparate group of men, all the best in their field, and heads out to get that thar gold.

The setup is simple and quick, and before you know it, we are on the sub. It’s a dilapidated hulk, but it will get the job done. We meet the crew and get underway and instantly resentments simmer. Half the crew is Russian because the sub in question was Russian (the gold inside was a payoff to the Nazis from Stalin). So, language and culture create problems. Then there’s the issue of who gets what. Robinson wants an even split. The company man (Scoot McNairy) along for the ride rightly believes it should be a flat fee, because well, you know, one less guy who survives = lots more gold. Sure enough, tempers flare and bad stuff happens. And once the gold is found (no spoiler really, you knew it was coming), everyone goes haywire as we head to Treasure of the Sierra Madre territory.

Black Sea plays out as you’d expect. Men die because subs are dangerous, men die because lusting after gold is dangerous. But it’s got a greasy edge to it. Director Kevin Macdonald knows how to ratchet up the tension. The action scenes are expertly staged. And Jude? He has taken the handsome boy suit off, and all the simmering rage that you always felt was underneath is on full display. He gives a visceral, physical performance miles ahead of what I’ve seen from him in the past. He unleashes the rage and pain of being left behind by his wife and from losing his job, and yet the sorrow beneath is palpable. He wants to do good by his men. He wants them to get what they deserve, but his own need to redeem himself clouds his judgment. It’s a fantastic performance.

The script can get a bit wobbly and predictable, and despite the exceptional acting, the cast can’t always make it work. Ben Mendelsohn, a particularly fine actor, has trouble as the unstable diver Fraser. His psychotic meltdowns come in at very convenient points in the plot and don’t convincingly sit well with the other aspects of the character. There are also unnecessary flashbacks to Robinson’s previous life that slow the film down. But these are minor quibbles. Black Sea is a rock solid, old school, pre-absurd ’80’s pyrotechnics action flick. And it’s a blast.