12 Strong Review
R: war violence and language throughout
Warner Bros. Pictures, Alcon Entertainment, Black Label Media, Jerry Bruckheimer Films
2 Hrs and 10 Minutes
Dir: Nicolai Fuglsig | Writers: Ted Tally, Peter Craig
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, Navid Negahban, Trevante Rhodes, Jack Kesy, Geoff Stults, Thad Luckinbill
INTRO: "12 Strong" and "13 Hours"? What’s the next number war movie we’ll get? 14 Guns? 14 Arms? Well before we see Chris Hemsworth in “Infinity War” we have him leading a mission at the beginning of the Iraq War.
Following the September 11 attacks, Task Force Dagger, including CIA paramilitary officers and US Army Green Berets Operational Detachment Alpha 595 (ODA 595) are sent to Afghanistan. They join forces with General Abdul Rashid Dostum of the Northern Alliance to help conduct unconventional warfare against Taliban forces.
THE GOOD
With Hemsworth at the helm being the captain of this team, it is his job to carry the weight of the performances on his soldiers I MEAN SHOULDERS. There is such an extensive and cast here from Thor, General Zod, Chiron, some other guys, and Michael Peña. Even Rob Riggle who was a real-life marine corps veteran turned actor is in this playing a military colonial.The cast does a fine job portraying these real-life soldiers and has a bonding commodity amongst each other.
Hemsworth does a fine job in the leading role where he gives inspirational speeches and gives orders to his crew. His character may be bland but what gives him a bit of depth is overtime he interacts with General Abdul Rashid Dostum played by a phenomenal Navid Negahban who helps them and their team fight against the Taliban. The electric chemistry between Navid Negahban’s chemistry with Chris Hemsworth elevates the film as a whole to be pretty entertaining. He is their guide of Afghanistan, and he’s pretty great. He knows the ins and outs of the land and has a vast sense of wisdom.
There comes the point where he goes from being human to a mentor figure. All of his speeches he shares to Hemsworth and his men becomes a combination of mentors we see in film history such as Mr. Miiyagi, Dumbledore, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, etc. He even makes a “Don’t use your head but your heart” speech. In any other film, you would roll your eyes, but his level of charm makes it feel genuine. To be honest, he reminds me of an Afghan Uncle Iroh. His charm, his wit, his wisdom, and most of all his chill delivery/dialect reminds me so much of Iroh from “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” They have a budding dynamic that is genuine and deserved that by the end lies a fundamental message of kindness amongst potential enemies and finding the humanity. It is a warm and pleasant natured message despite the several scenes of asshole Americans offending Afghan culture.
THE BAD
I hate saying this because I’ve been watching so many movies for years now, I’ve seen plenty of war films like the but just done much better. I don’t care that the highlight of this story was soldiers on horses if you’re going to take something that was supposed to be a remarkable story and make it a cliched war film, you have a cliched war film on your hands. With every character that is introduced, you’re able to predict very element that is to happen in the story.
The lead is the soldier who talks back to his commanding officer who goes goddamnit I’ll give you what you want. Everyone is a one-note character that is bland and is eh. Hemsworth is the leader, Shannon is the rational man, Rhodes is the black guy, and Michael Peńa is the comic relief surprise surprise but I tell you this, he made me laugh here more than in "CHIPs". It may be a backhanded compliment, but his one-liners are very hit or miss.
The violence can be really graphic and intense and then in the next scene, we have American soldiers shooting people on horses. Its that Jerry Bruckheimer shit where he can produce films where the action can range from dark and graphic to silly and dumb. Let’s just say I had “12 Strong” minutes of rest while watching this. If you’re going into this flick for action and gunplay, have fun. This shit is for you. The movie has was too many explosions and bloody gun violence that it’ll give a Michael Bay enthusiast and even Bay himself the biggest fuel of testosterone in the world.
The way how the action is directed and choreographed Bay might as well directed it but thankfully it isn’t because 1st-time director Nicolai Fuglsig has restraints on overblown explosions. We follow soldiers who primarily call in bomb strikes, but it isn’t pretentious in the way where it would move in slow motional the time whenever someone is blown to bits.
LAST STATEMENT
It is entertaining and fast paced, but “12 Strong” features way too many cliches to differentiate it from the batch of the genre.
Rating: 2/5 | 48%
Super Scene: Hemsworth and the Horse get back up like bad boys.
