Military Mondays: "12 Strong" Movie Review
It's clear that 12 Strong puts a lot of effort into glorifying this pivotal mission and honoring the soldiers that took part in it. And while the hook seems to be "soldiers on horses", the story is the focus on the film, depicting America's first form of retaliation for the 9/11 attack involving 12 soldiers on a classified Afghanistan mission.
There's action. There's drama. There's soldiers on horses if that's the selling point you prefer. What isn't present is something distinguishing this film from other generic war films. Perhaps that's why marketing elected to highlight the horses, but it's such a negligible aspect of the film, and everyone should be concerned when "soldiers on horses" becomes a selling point of choice over "America fights back against the Taliban."
Therefore, 12 Strong feels generic. But it's not all bad news. 12 Strong captures the entertaining side of military culture well. And the cast, lead by Liam Hemsworth, fosters a chemistry that works.
In the middle of Oscar season however, it seems 12 Strong will play better on VOD than in theaters. It's a popcorn flick. Or at least good background noise. Ultimately, not as remarkable as it could've been.
Acting and Casting - 1 | Visual Effects and Editing - 2 | Story and Message - 1 | Entertainment Value - 1 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 1 | Reviewer's Preference - 1