Movie Review -- 12 Strong

  Has it really been sixteen and a half years since 9/11? Has it really been four years since Lone Survivor? I think the better question is have modern-war films changed so little in the past four years?

  12 Strong is a film about the very first US special forces mission in Afghanistan following the September 11^th attacks. The team of Green Berets and CIA paramilitary officers try to assist the Northern Alliance forces in pushing the Taliban out of key cities, thus denying safe havens for al-Qaeda. I haven't read the book this film is based on but the plot seems pretty believable, I guess. It also seems very straightforward and lacking in depth. It's more of a “here's our mission; let's get it done” sort of film. A better title for 12 Strong could've been chosen as well. Sure there's 12 US soldiers, but they hardly did this mission all on their own. Besides, the main focus of the story is the relationship between team leader Capt. Mitch Nelson (Chris Hemsworth) and General Abdul Rashid Dastum (David Negahban), one of the Northern Alliance's leaders. The most intriguing part of the story is in watching these two men try to respect and work with eachother.

  As mentioned above, 12 Strong is a film that doesn't go too deep into the historical significance (post-2001) of its events, the ramifications of US involvement in the Middle East, or the ethics of war in general (which is something Lone Survivor tried exploring). This here is a good old patriotic war movie that doesn't try asking tough questions.

  Where 12 Strong does show depth is in its attention to detail. For example in one scene that takes place in a village recently liberated from the Taliban we see children flying kites and playing games, both of which were prohibited under the Islamic fundamentalist regime. The film also does a fine job of illustrating just how fractured and complicated a country Afghanistan is and that peace in this region of the world is a very fragile thing.

  A commendable amount of care was taken in portraying the US soldiers... sort of. Let me explain. Most of the soldier characters aren't all that deep – even the ones played by big name actors – but they do look and behave like real soldiers. Their work ethic and sense of hunour seems believable for special forces operatives. The actors – especially Negahban, Michael Pena, Michael Shannon, and William Fitchner – all do a fine job. Foremost among them is Chris Hemsworth who employs his charisma to satisfying effect as the embattled Captain Nelson struggling to hold fragile alliances together and work with the finite assets at his disposal.

  I should also mention that 12 Strong is a pretty good-looking movie with capable direction. Its action scenes are very thrilling and comfortably fast-paced thanks to the admirable editing on display.

In short, 12 Strong is your standard, easily digestible war movie. It's not dissimilar to Lone Survivor, although it is a bit less gritty and and has a more heroic tone to it. If you're looking for a war movie or action movie that isn't so heavy then 12 Strong might be worth a try.

P.S. – Will Fitchner's bald head looks really weird in this film, doesn't it?

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