Director: Pierre Morel
Year: 2022
Country: United Arab Emirates/France
Alternate Titles: Al Kameen
Genre: Action/War
Plot:
In the winter of 2018, the men and women of the UAE military are deployed to provide aid. At the Mocha Base, spirits are high as three Emirati soldiers anticipate an imminent return home. While on their final routine patrol, three soldiers are ambushed by heavily armed militants on their route, through a narrow canyon. Trapped, wounded, and out of communication range, the three soldiers realize the gravity of their situation. They are running out of options, munitions, and time. Back at the base, their commander receives the word and realizes that the assault on the UAE army patrol was premeditated. A rescue mission is quickly put into action, but will air and land support reach the men in time, and will they survive?
Review:
Overall, this was a pretty enjoyable if somewhat flawed war movie feature. What this one gets right a lot of the time are the stellar Action set-pieces that maintain the gravitas and spectacle usually associated with the genre. The choreography in the sequences involving them trying to secure shelter, returning gunfire, or just generally moving through the terrain to complete their mission is enough for the type of story being told as they try to hold back on the enemy forces surrounding them. The influx of heavy artillery, later on, creates even more spectacle for a highly enjoyable time when it's featuring all kinds of gunfire and pyrotechnics that are usually emotionally charged for an added benefit. This is the film's brightest spot and holds a lot of its impact.
Beyond that, though, there's not much to say about this one. The simplistic story doesn't allow for much here beyond assigning names to the troops and determining the need for the rescue mission as there's very little given here. Attempts at being deep and emotional come off as incredibly hollow and lifeless which is further hampered by being out of place in a full-throttle Action film like this. The simple-minded nature of this is also evident in the general lack of interaction between anything else beyond the main soldiers or anyone else in the unit, leaving quite a void of information regarding what's going on. This all becomes troublesome enough before taking the problematic politics of the film into question which might not be a real issue for everyone but still affects this one.
Overview: **.5/5
A generally effective war movie when it sticks to the Action, that the simple story doesn’t have much going on tends to be the main driving factor against this one might be the biggest drawback to overcome that factor. Those who appreciate this kind of style or are fans of the creative crew will be the main fans here while most others that don’t appreciate those factors should heed caution.
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