Sunday, 4 February 2018

Film Review: 12 Strong (2018)

Rating: 7/10
Genre: War/Action
Related Titles: World Trade Center, Zero Dark Thirty, Lone Survivor
By Leanne Harragan

In the aftermath of September 11th, Captain Mitch Nelson takes a team of Special Forces soldiers into Afghanistan on what is labelled a suicide mission. On arrival they make a precarious partnership with the Northern Alliance to fight the Taliban. Nelson takes his team into poor odds against unrelenting enemies.

A great tribute to the true heroes of the first mission after 9/11, it maintains a patriotic tone while touching upon the complex involvement of American forces in Afghanistan. It's a little bit long and I personally really felt that at times but at the same time I don't feel like much could be cut out, it was all quite important for the flow of the film and to give the film a bit of heart.

While it really only scratched the surface of American involvement it doesn't shy away from the horrors of war and at times I felt quite nervous watching the team of twelve horse-back soldiers going into battle against forces of greater numbers and resources.

I really liked the way that relationships between soldiers, strangers and families were shown. The opening of the film took time to establish the relationships between the soldiers and their families and the strain it put upon them. There were also some great bonds built between the soldiers and some great conversations that took place throughout the film.

The cast were very good with Chris Hemsworth and Michael Peña being two absolute standouts for me. It was also interesting to see Michael Shannon playing a completely different role to the previous role I saw him in as villain in 'The Shape of Water.'

Overall despite it's slightly long run-time, it is a solid war film and was an interesting watch.




No comments:

Post a Comment