Black Water is a straightforward action thriller featuring genre veterans Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. The narrative is focused on espionage and survival, with character backgrounds and traits remaining secondary to the plot rather than identity markers. There's little evidence of forced representation or agenda-driven character creation.

The film leans into classic action tropes: gritty masculinity, straightforward good-versus-evil dynamics, and themes of loyalty and betrayal. There is no attempt to subvert traditional gender roles, and cultural or historical revisionism is absent.

There is little discussion of ideology at all. The worldviews presented are mainly pragmatic and focused on the immediate plot. No caricatured villains as social commentary or overt mocking of traditional perspectives is evident.