Damn Fine War Movie


I just finished it: A quick review:

It starts with 45 minutes of getting to know the characters and the situation they are in. It's a nice, slow buildup showing how extremely dangerous the outpost is and how you can die at any second. They all know they are walking targets.

When it all goes down it's pretty dang gripping - they do some incredible tracking shots that I have never seen before. You are put right in the heart of the action. Based on a true story, I got to say they went through hell and you're feeling like you're right there with them.

I was pleasantly surprised by the effort. Caleb Landry Jones, who I remember most from his role as Banshee in X-Men First Class, really stood out.

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"When it all goes down it's pretty dang gripping - they do some incredible tracking shots that I have never seen before. You are put right in the heart of the action. Based on a true story, I got to say they went through hell and you're feeling like you're right there with them."
Well said. Couldn't take my eyes of the screen during the battle...the amount of bullets zinging by, the number of people stationed in the hilltops firing down on them...yup, really did have a good sense of just how screwed these guys were. Was so immersed that I couldn't stop thinking about how terrified these guys must have been...how every last one of them was measured through and through and came through with flying colors. Hell, I imagine I'd have been in the supply closet, crying like a baby...what an insanely intense battle depicted here.

Anyone reading this, you ought to look up the battle of keating and read more about the colonel depicted here by Eastwood...if it wasn't for this guy, things would have turned out very differently. This single person literally rallied everyone together to take back the base, called in a bunch of airstrikes, rescued fallen comrades...all while wounded and under continuous fire from multiple directions. Whatever you think about the US military, this is a man to be recognized and admired.

Anyway, great movie..."gripping" is the perfect word.

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