Every American war film is like every American war film.....

Rating: 5/10 (5 April 2018)

Every American war film, in my experience, is like every other American war film.
Its the same basic premise, with much the same context and underlying attitude. That is an exaggerated belief in the "righteousness" of the cause, married up to conceited obnoxious key characters who have a sense of ownership and entitlement, that puts them at odds with pretty much everyone they meet.
12 Strong is no exception. The main characters are loud, rude and generally really, really unlikable. Its hard to empathise with them or feel any genuine interest in them, especially given the historical context used yet again to justify their presence in Afghanistan. 9/11 was a led by Saudi nationals not Afghans but because the US is inextricably tied to Saudi through the petro dollar the poor Afghans drew the short straw. Of course this is never mentioned.
Instead our "hero's" go about their heroic business in formulaic style.The action scenes are predictable but well done but really there's little more on offer here. Of course, given there never seems to be any departure from the general script, that's to be expected.
Take a look but don't expect anything you have not seen before. 5/10 from me.