an entertaining and compelling story of real-life heroism

Rating: 8/10 (28 January 2018)

"12 Strong" (R, 2:10), is also known as "12 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers", which tells Movie Fans much of what they need to know in deciding whether or not to see the film. Here's the rest of what you probably need to know: These 12 Army special forces soldiers (played by, among others, Chris Hemsworth, Michael Peña, the great Michael Shannon, Trevante Rhodes and the underrated Geoff Stults) become the first American troops to strike back against the Taliban in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Barely a month after the Towers came down, two Army officers (Rob Riggle and William Fichtner) choose this group of men to link up with a northern Afghan warlord (Navid Negahban) to attack the important city of Mazar-e-Sharif. / This film has a lot in common (and compares very well with) another film released in mid-January of 2016, "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi". Both films give us heroes to cheer for and plenty of intense action, while mining the backgrounds of the men involved - and their complex interpersonal relationships - for considerable emotional impact. "12 Strong" is thrilling, entertaining, heart-felt and serves as a great reminder of the courage and determination of the men and women who defend the homeland by fighting overseas. "A-"