Just don't look at this too closely....

Rating: 6/10 (27 June 2020)

Though this is certainly a well crafted piece of cinema, the narrative is riddled with inconsistencies that frankly put this on the borderline between fact and propaganda, That's not to decry the considerable bravery and achievements of the battalion sent to assist local tribes in their battle with an incredibly well armed Taliban; and were this just to be treated as an action adventure film on that basis then it's long, but quite watchable. It isn't though - and as such comes across as a confused, rather gung-ho, interpretation of facts that don't really stand up to too much scrutiny if you have even the faintest soupçon of knowledge as to the political situation prevailing in war-torn Afghanistan at the start of the 21st Century. Neither Chris Hemsworth nor Michael Peña bring much to the party from a performance perspective and though the photography (New Mexico) does give us some sort of indiction as to how remote and bleak the territory is; this is just a rather poor war film about a more recent war, with some good effects.