Credited cast: | |||
Henry Cavill | ... | Cpt. Syverson | |
Nicholas Hoult | ... | Pvt. Matt Ocre | |
Tommy Flanagan | ... | Sgm. MacGregor | |
Logan Marshall-Green | ... | Sgt. Harper | |
Glen Powell | ... | Sgt. Chutsky | |
Beau Knapp | ... | Sgt. Burton | |
Navid Negahban | ... | Kadeer | |
Sope Dirisu | ... | Sgt. Cole | |
Sam Spruell | ... | 1st Lt. Anthony | |
Neil Brown Jr. | ... | Cpl. Enzo | |
Anthony Welsh | ... | Carter | |
Gonzalo Menendez | ... | Haring | |
Parker Sawyers | ... | Sergeant Robinson | |
Nabil Elouahabi | ... | Arif | |
Osy Ikhile | ... | Msg. Pepps |
A soldier enlists just before the 9/11. He is not a brave man--simply volunteering to defend freedom. Arriving in Iraq in 2003, just after the occupation of Bagdad, with a few soldiers of his infantry platoon, he is sent to provide water to a village whose infrastructure was destroyed. Simple things however, such as water transportation, water distribution and the reconstruction of the plumbing became a challenge in war environment.
A decent and straightforward War movie. It's not very combat centered, but rather focuses on the soldier's internal conflicts. I've seen plenty of War films like this before and unfortunately this one doesn't stand out as that unique compared to many others. It feels like an extension of something you'd see on "Generation Kill". It's not necessarily a bad thing, because if that is your thing then you are gonna like this movie.
I will give it this though; I like the story-line of the soldier's giving water to the people in the village. That's actually one of the main missions the characters are given. I appreciate that it explores a simple story like that. Giving water to the people in need is ultimately more important than winning a war. Nicholas Hoult's character seems to find a purpose of being part of the army by doing this act of kindness because he feels that he finally does some good. So, that aspect was well portrayed in this movie.
Henry Cavill is not in the movie that much, but whenever he is on screen he plays his supporting character well. I think they should have utilized him much more, since he really was doing such a good job playing a kind of eccentric captain. A different role compared to what he has played before. The editing in some scenes distracted me. They started zooming in the image on the same shot a few times and I didn't like that. It's better to just let the scene play out in one shot. Don't start jump-cutting and zooming it in all the sudden. You have different angles for that.
The music is great. Some parts gave me "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Apocalypse Now" vibes and the end credits song is very relaxing. So, the movie leaves you with a nice feeling because of the music. It's not bad as I said, just a tad underwhelming. You can watch it and enjoy just fine.