The film revolves around a faction assigned to neutralize a Taliban checkpoint in the Kajaki region of Afghanistan. It appears to be a vastly different task in front of a dried riverbed, and at every step of the possibility there is an anti-personnel mine in a mission that is the most dangerous of all.
By casting unknowns, Katis only ratchets up the tension more, leaving his audiences breathless throughout, unable to second guess who might make it out alive.
The cast are fully believable, and the landscape - Jordan filling in for Afghanistan, as it did for Saudi Arabia in the recent release Theeb - provides another character, implacable and indifferent. War may be hell, but hell can be starkly beautiful too.
It's a relief that one can report that, strictly in aesthetic terms, it is indeed a well-made piece of work, executed with better-than-average levels of craftsmanship.
Dork Shelf
November 13, 2015
A rare, incredibly well executed film about brotherhood, tenacity and grit.
Once the men are on the riverbed facing a painful death, [director] Katis and screenwriter Tom Williams wind up the suspense to the point where even a rock cascading down a hill will have you holding your breath, waiting for the next bomb to detonate.
Under the Radar
December 09, 2015
An arguably anti-war depiction of true events, yet one that expertly eschews the mawkish or sanctimonious didacticism such films frequently espouse.
