Strong, nicely built, and also scary as a war movie

Rating: 7/10 (21 October 2015)

The movie did a very good job in downplaying the starting hype the trailers had made that we bring at its start. It nicely elaborates on the background of the war, the background of the focus character, and the position of the warring parties; all while delivering funny images of children's creativity and cunning. The suspense escalation is built nicely stable in increments and made sure that the audience feels the difference between the fun opening scenes and the start of the war. Then, after the conflict sets in, the audience is confronted with waves of some what disturbing images of how uncontrolled war can really take a toll on not just a child person, but also on an entire generation. The acting may seem like a standard job in overall, but the overall direction is just great. Abraham Attah looks like he can really blend in to the rest of the adult cast fairly. Idris Elba did very well in depicting the ruthlessness of the Commandant.