The Objective

Plot synopsis:
In Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, a Special Forces team consisting of team leader Sergeant Wally Hamer, Master-Sergeant Kenny Tanner, Sergeants Vince Degetau, Trinoski, Tim Cole, and Pete Sadler meets CIA Agent Benjamin Keynes, who indicates that their mission is to find a very important Afghan cleric by the name of Mohammed Aban. Hamer, briefs the men to be ready. After being inserted, the team finds a local guide, Abdul, in a village in Southern Afghanistan, where Aban is from. Together, they go to the mountains, where the cleric has a reputation for hiding.
As they go further into the mountains, they begin to have strange encounters. First, they are ambushed by gunmen who kill Trinoski. The team returns fire, killing multiple gunmen, but when they check the bodies, they have disappeared. That night, the team spots headlights of a vehicle approaching. However, the two lights separate and then speedily fly into the sky and disappear. After speculating on what the lights may have been, they radio for a helicopter to resupply them. The next day, they cannot get reception on their radio or GPS. Their truck, damaged from the ambush, is struggling to move up the mountain. At night, the team hears a helicopter approaching, though they cannot spot it. As their radio is not working, they attempt to signal the helicopter. As the helicopter, still unseen, seems to be directly on top of them, the noise abruptly stops (something that shouldn't be physically possible). Meanwhile, the radio picks up what sounds like Persian or Arabic, but no one can understand it. They cache Trinoski's body so that they can move to a safer position for the night. The next morning, the team finds parts of Trinoski's body strewn out across rocks. Further up the mountain, they spot strange, triangular markers made of sticks across the mountain's surface. As they continue on foot with their mission in the rocky and barren landscape, fatigue, frustration and confusion take their toll on the members of the team and they come across a cave. Inside, they find an old man who gives them shelter and refills their canteens. Sergeant Sadler notices that under the man's robes, he appears to be wearing a nineteenth-century British army uniform. Sadler tells the others of a legend of how a British regiment disappeared in Afghanistan's mountains, leaving only one survivor. In the morning Sergeant Cole observes the old man apparently talking to himself, but when Cole looks through his night vision goggles, he sees a group of men with swords in black robes. Panicking, the soldier opens fire, accidentally killing the old man. Abdul says they must bury the body, but Keynes orders the team to move on in case the enemy heard them. Degeteau develops horrible stomach pains. As he tries to drink from a canteen, he finds in it much sand, as are the containers of everyone else. Further on, Abdul is surprised to find that there is an entire valley that wasn't there previously. Tensions further increase when the team encounters a bright light at night. As Tanner and Cole try to flank the light, believing it to be a ruse by the Taliban, they're immediately vaporized. The next morning, Abdul warns Keynes that they are dealing with a supernatural phenomenon that is beyond human conception and has deadly consequences; he then commits suicide by stepping off a cliff.
As the team progresses further and tensions among the men increase, the remaining soldiers confront Keynes and demand the truth. Keynes shows them a recording from his thermal imaging camera and informs them about the real motive. The thermal video shows a triangular object in the desert. Being nearly invisible to the naked eye, it lifts off the ground after three (supposed) men, including Mohammed Aban, walk to it and vanishes right in front of Keynes' eyes. It was this object that killed the men. The CIA has been monitoring this phenomenon since 1980 and sent Keynes and the special forces team there to further investigate it. The whole time, Keynes has been recording with his special thermal camera and sending the images to Langley via an advanced laser aimed at CIA satellites. Keynes theorizes that this object originates from an ancient Indian mythology called 'Vimanas', a sort of UFO-related phenomenon that occurred when Alexander the Great rode through this area of land as he was conquering, and the bright lights and the ghostly gunmen are associated with it. He also explains that the team is an 'expendable' for the investigation and they will not be rescued, which causes a brief scuffle with the agitated team leader, who disappears the next morning.
Running out of ammunition, water and food, the team wanders further into the desert where they finally encounter the vimanas at what appears to be the location that the British regiment was destroyed. Sadler, overwhelmed with fear, opens fire upon the seemingly invisible vimanas only to be vaporized. Keynes flees with Degetau and abandons him later, as he is too sick to continue, and later hears his screams before being obliterated by the objects. Exhausted and traumatized, Keynes searches for water. He encounters an oasis and drinks water from it only to discover the body of Hamer laying next to the water. Unable to grasp the horror, he passes out. When he wakes up in the night, he hears the distant sound of a helicopter and fires his flare gun. Simultaneously, several flares fire up from the valley. The bright light he encountered earlier re-appears and two beings from it approach him. As it touches his forehead, he sees visions and hallucinations of various objects and landscapes from his previous encounters, causing him to go into a trance. In the final scene he is shown floating several inches above a bed with a talisman he took from Aban's home in his hand, inside a hospital room, where doctors and a military colonel are watching him through a glass window. In a trance, he finally whispers, "It will save us all..."
In the final credits, interviews of Keynes' wife are shown in which she says that the family has not yet been informed about him and concludes him to be missing.

Tags: violence, psychedelic

Review:
One thing is for sure, the real magic and strength of older science-fiction classics is not fully conjured here.This small-budget movie's premise is simple but opens many possibilities.
As the story unfolds, the mystery remains and the plot thickens but we are still left with a sour taste as the development and tension doesn't pay off much.There's a mish-mash of elements here that have been a success in other works and movies.
What follows is a thrilling, scary, and exciting film that almost never lets up until the ending.The writing is great, there are no over the top lines and long philosophical battles between characters, this is a movie about soldiers and they speak and act accordingly.
And the plot is a fantastic twist on the usual 'small company' war story movie as it adds elements of supernatural horror and psychological terror as the main antagonists instead of rival soldiers.The cons are the slightly low budget special effects at some points, instead of showing poorly done CGI, I would have opted for the 'less is more' approach and focused on characters reactions to the supernatural phenomenon instead.
The ending was a bit disappointing as well as there is very little concrete resolution but with some creative assuming and inference it is relatively obvious as to what happens to each individual character.If you like horror or thriller movies or just want to see a fresh idea then absolutely give this movie a chance.
For me, this was simply one of the best viewing experiences I have had in a long time, and believe me I watch a helluva lot of films!
The cinematography was glorious, with astounding landscapes shot perfectly; also the score and sound effects track was simply out of this world, giving the film incredible ambiance and atmosphere throughout, and conjuring up perfectly a sense of esoteric mystery and making the unseen threat seem almost palpable in the desolate surroundings.
Sure, the small company of soldiers here didn't have all the flashy catchphrasing and smart character interactions ("bughunt", "we're on an escalator to hell - going down!!") that we all love from "Aliens" (as has been pointed out in other postings) but that was because it wasn't necessary nor would have been appropriate in the scenarios in "The Objective".
The main problem some viewers seem to have with this film is that the plot line leaves the audience thinking at the end, with no easy answers and nicely tied-up resolution.
I feel sad for the person in the postings who had to ask such inane questions as to why the key character was shown at the end where he was and doing what he was doing and how he got there (note how I neatly sidestepped giving anything away then?!) The answer is: because it is a FILM and as such, constraints like time, budget and artistic convenience mean that not every single action needs to (or should) be shown to us.
This a smart Sci-fi/horror/ War Movie in a similar vein to R-Point or Outpost, a bit of popular myth (this time on a Erik von Dankin tip)...
The Special forces soldiers are believable too, kudos to the military adviser, and the acting's not bad too.The best think about 'The Objective'is the brooding pacing, It never scared me, more just left of field enough to make you think - this is and a bit different, that's a bit odd, this ain't Hollywood etc...
not surprising then to learn its from one of the directors from Blair Witch...On the flip side the heavy narration gives it a TV movie feel and though it kind of works in the end hmmmm, I dunno there was still a bit much.
The movie is called " Objective " and tentatively based on the legendary incident, concerning one Dr. William Brydon otherwise known as 'The Massacre at Khourd Caboul.' writer/Director Daniel Myrick tells the story of a C.I.A. operative, Benjamin Keynes (Jonas Ball) who is given a covert assignment to venture into the mountains of Afganistan and find a mystic leader named Mohammad Aban who possess special information concerning the area.
I saw this at Tribeca and it was a sell out with most of the audience staying for the intelligent Q and A, always a good sign.The music too was very strong, as was the performances of all the actors involved.If you're seeking a different movie, one that is original in story, tone and character, THE OBJECTIVE is a must see for you!A fun film!I say check it out big-time!.
You feel like you're there with the guys, in that immense, isolated, mysterious space.It's this sense of immersion and the suspense that propells me to give this movie a 6/10, purely because I really enjoyed it.
But that's not to say it is without flaws; au contraire, the story is like a mechanical swiss cheese, with obvious, unavoidable and perhaps intentional plot holes - the problem is that some of them nearly ruined the film for me, and will certainly ruin it for the casual science-fiction fan.So there you have it - I liked this movie and I'd recommend it - but I feel this movie could have been so much better if not for some serious flaws.The painfully obvious first one is the narration, done by the main actor.
Like many I feel some things are best left to our imaginations, and this movie is a nice example of getting this sort of thing wrong.There's a fantastic scene in the middle of the movie that involves binoculars.
It's usually good to be left with a mystery, but sometimes it pisses people off, and sadly, this is the case with me and "The Objective".I know I'll watch it again, though.6/10.
Should we follow these brave men on their objective, or should we go on the subjective and fail their mission?The film is set in Afghanistan (don't know where it's actually filmed, though) and thus creates a believable atmosphere and setting.
It's mediocre and it's seems happy to be just that.Anywho, give it a go if you want to kill off an hour and a half and not making it feel like a complete waste of time, but don't expect a film that'll save your day..
Too bad nobody has done the hard work of coming up with a coherent vision, purpose and narrative; of aligning location, characters and story; of coming up with a meaning or a graceful way of avoiding imposing a meaning; or, at the very least, of making an engaging thriller.Stephanie Martin's cinematography, however, did make the movie much more bearable.
Daniel Myrick is director to keep an eye on.This DVD is worth the buy.Thanks for such an entertaining film in a genre filled with movies made by people with poor production values who think they know a formula for a good movie.I can only imagine getting Myrick on movie with a major budget..
I'm sorry, but I just watched this at the Atlantic film festival, and it is a horribly written, acted, and directed film.A - It's Blair Witch...AGAIN..literally B - It's Blair Witch again..overlay-ed with a rip off Charlie Sheen (in voice AND copy...well, bad copy) from Apocalypse NowThe performances were laughable, the characters were shallow and poorly developed, the audio is TERRIBLE, the cinematography is poor, and the editing is awful.I hope we are not to expect another film that is put together this poorly?
Movie is a disappointment, sort of like Stargate: Starts good, ultimately a big letdown - no real insight or resolution - just the confusion of a director not really sure where his own plot is going.
The letdown happens because, as with 'Objective', the movie starts strong and engages the watcher(s), especially those with no knowledge of astrophysics (Stargate), or of real military operations and real military SF folks, or normal adult behavior under stress, for that matter (Objective).The so-called 'military adviser' to the movie producers (his military qualifications apparently restricted to a bald haircut simulating some tough-guy) has quite obviously never been in a military organization - certainly not Special Forces.
Oh, did I mention the complete lack of individual and small-unit tactical skills by these overgrown spoiled children/characters pretending (badly) to be 'soldiers' ?From there on, the movie goes on a downward spiral of unexplained nonsense, with little or no real explanations - just the mental gyrations of a plot with no direction, and no real conclusion.A frustrating experience - I would avoid it unless your mental appreciation for reality is sadly lacking or nonexistent - which unfortunately describes most of today's 'moviegoers'..
One thing that screen writers should learn about story telling with films, is , Beginning, middle, and end!
It should have done better.All in all, The Objective is a pass from my point of view as it offers nothing new, nothing exciting, just a story said many times before under a different director but not a different direction.
THE OBJECTIVE is an intriguing little picture from Daniel Myrick, one of the directors behind THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, and it's going for the same sort of vibe, albeit with a completely different setting and set-up.
The storyline follows a squad of soldiers on a special mission behind enemy lines in Afghanistan, searching for something mysterious in a god-forgotten desert landscape.The Moroccan locations look fantastic and there's quite a bit of suspense built up along the way, along with one or two decent action scenes.
Starts out half-interesting but gets too caught up with it's own inability (or desire) to tell a straight story that it just becomes a jumbled mess.If I was to summarise it it would be that a group of soldiers have an objective to identify something mysterious in the desert of Afghanistan.There's not really any need for spoiler warnings or anything because there's really not a whole lot to spoil as there is not any clear answers to what this movie is about.Now of course as a viewer we are able to form our own picture to what it is about but there really aren't enough interesting characters or events to really warrant expecting the viewers to do that.Acting is fairly amateurish overall, I think the lead guy mainly got the role because he was American and knew how to speak Arabic tbh.Yeah nothing too exciting here, and in the end pretty pointless..
I don't know why, but these hybrid horror / war stories seem to have interesting ideas, but alas get lost amongst their attempts of psychological tension relating to vacant characters and hidden supernatural elements stemming of superstitious believes cementing a purposely slow-burn feature even though it keeps on the move.
The whole set-up (CIA operative leading some Special Ops on a military mission with ulterior motives head in to isolated, unknown enemy territory) actually had me thinking of 'Predator' (1987).
In fact, I felt like I was watching a strange mix of The Blair Witch Project (which I disliked quite a lot) and Apocalypse Now (which I really enjoyed), with elements of Close Encounters mixed in, near the climax.
I think this works better than BWP (partly because the acting was so horrible in BWP), but it still ultimately fails, because, like BWP, it's basically just a bunch of guys walking around, seeing increasingly spooky stuff, with no real payoff at the end.
Director Daniel Myrick does play up to the film being set in a very real time and place , giving the movie an almost documentary look with hand-held cameras and cinema verite style but this isn't how the film progressesForeshadowing is a difficult thing .
A graveyard of empires indeed Everything's chugging along nicely and THE OBJECTIVE is a engaging little horror/war film with some good locations and a small non star cast .
Why didn't you just load a rocket with budget money and launch it into space, same effect because you would not see the ending, and be left with the same dumb look on your faceActing was not bad, but the poor cast was marooned in the middle of nowhere, going nowhere, in a big circle to nowhere."my eyes" "my eyes" tell me I drempt about wasting hours of my life..
The movie leaves too many open ended questions and at the end I feel like I did after watching X-files -- I want more answers.The desert is just haunting and adds much to the substance of the plot.
It is basically a mood film, something that enters your bones and doesn't let go until the weird ending that just makes you feel you are still in the movie, making it originally effective.That being said, you can't enjoy this film if you read any spoilers, so stop reading reviews and watch the film.
It´s one of those movies that you can really only watch once as once you know the ending it takes all the "magic" away.
Now the sad part about the film is the ending, which in my opinion was confusing - it doesn't answer the question what was out there (altough you can guess pretty clearly).Overall, "The Objective" isn't anything special nor original, but for one evening it will do it's justice if you know and like the premise and the genre.
Lastly the movie had an interesting storyline that wanted to make you watch till the end.
Overall strange film, somewhat hard to follow, budget CGI, and a poor cliffhanger-style ending makes this one a bargain-bin movie.
and nowhere close to Afghanistan or Ghanzi province where the main spoken languages are " Pashto " and " Dari " The movie was shot in the Moroccan mountains & desert, and apparently, the producers hired local actors and requested them to speak their own native language hoping to get away with it and thinking that the audience ( I guess to them it was supposed to be mostly Americans and Europeans ) wont notice the difference.
But it worked for me and I'm a fan of deliberate, well-done low-budget sci-fi (as well as the other kind).If you'd like more of this, I recommend Shane Carruth's two fantastic movies: "Primer" and "Upstream Color." Also can't say enough about "Valhalla Rising," another great "film of ideas." Bone up on your Dante, Apocrypha (Dismas/The Harrowing of Hell) and Norse mythology to enjoy that one though...
One of the directors of The Blair Witch Project teams up with the son of former United States Army General Wesley Clark to bring us this sci-fi war thriller about Special Ops soldiers in Afghanistan who come across a mysterious sect of Taliban members with a supernatural weapon of 'unimaginable powers.' The horror of war is something that the world faces constantly; but, ironically, there have not been many great horror films set in a war.
The locations are fantastic and Morocco was a good replacement for what would obviously be a pretty difficult place to film a movie.
To wit, the relative monotone voice of lead Jonas Ball was perhaps supposed to represent the team's logic and authority in this mission, but all it did was make me roll my eyes when he spoke, reminding me that, yes, this movie has an absolutely horrible script and its laughable examples of insightful dialogue are insulting to anyone with mostly functioning senses.And the ending!
I will stop with the spoilers there because that one is only minor and slightly affects the story.Next, our characters continue to try to find this mysterious person but soon, one by one, they discover something that should have never been found.The film did get a few jumps that I saw especially in this scene where during night time they are watching headlines on a road, suddenly, they split up and fly into the night sky.
The last half made the movie feel like it was a 2 hour film when it was only 1 hour and 30 minutes.
The director didn't know how to end this film.
I picked this up recently and to be honest was not expecting much and so was pleasantly surprised at an intelligent, thought provoking movie which pulls off that most difficult of science fiction staples, portraying a real sense of the alien.The bare bones of the plot involve a group of special forces troops being led into the mountains of Afghanistan by a mysterious CIA operative whose stated mission is to make contact with a cleric who may be pro US and to record a statement, of course this is all bunkum and the REAL mission (SPOILERS) is to investigate a radioactive signature picked up by a satellite pass over this area post 9/11, the CIA agent Keynes is part of a group within the CIA tasked with discovering just what the radiation is caused by, could it be an AQ nuclear weapon or something stranger?
Yes, I agree: Cameron's soldiers were action-movie buffoons, clowning around and behaving like little children half the time - hence "interesting".
I'm not saying this film is anti-American but it certainly doesn't bring out any of the kinds of feelings a good war movie should.
When I saw this film in the rental shop I thought it looked like a decent war film, it had the name "the objective" very military name if you ask me.
It looked and sounded like a proper, worth a watch war film.
There's no mistaking The Objective for the fictional work that it is.The setting is also vastly different, with the new film following a group of American soldiers on a mountains-and-desert journey through Afghanistan.
From one of the directors of the Blair Witch Project comes the story of a Special Ops team that goes into Afghanistan with a CIA agent in the lead.
With many special effects and pyrotechnics, characters we already know before watching them...In resume, films all the same.In this one, of course we also have the lost platoon in the middle of nowhere, in the deep of Afghanistan, but this movie is strangely - how can I say...SIMPLE.