Good actors let down by appalling dialogue

Rating: 4/10 (4 April 2018)

This is another one for the flag wavers. 12 Strong is the story of a Green Beret unit which helped Afghani warlords defeat Taliban and Al Qaeda forces to take a strategically important town in the very early days of the US-Afghanistan war.
First time director Nicolai Fuglsig was a war correspondent in Kosovo, so his experiences no doubt lend some realism to the action scenes; of which there are plenty. However, his inexperience as a director, or perhaps the producers' desire for a return on the budget, reduce this film to a forgettable mash of bombs, bullets and fragile egos.

Michael Shannon is IMO one of the best character actors since Philip Seymour Hoffman. He has no opportunity to show his skill here, with some of the worst lines he will probably utter in his entire career being his standout moments in this film.
Michael Pena reprises the role he's been playing repeatedly since the early 90s: a gung-ho soldier who loves his country. Trevante Rhodes gets lumped with all the most cringeworthy scenes. Navid Negahban provides us with the Pashto version of "Hasta la vista, baby". And Chris Hemsworth is Chris Hemsworth.
This sums to a film where instead of being immersed in the action, we are frequently reminded we a re watching a film when dumb characters say dumb lines. If you are a fan of Thor et al, then you will probably find this film enthralling. If you have never seen a good war film, I would recommend watching Gettysburg or Das Boot instead; two films which didn't treat the audience like morons.