The entire world knows the significance of September 11, 2003. For me, the date holds a lot of meaning. I was in New York for the month prior related to the previous bombing of the World Trade Center. I flew out of LaGuardia on September 10, 2003. Having been to all of the trials related to the bombings and the Bojinga Plot, I was intimately familiar with the backstory. We knew Al Qaeda wanted to bring down the towers, we knew they would continue to try, but no one could have conceived of the plot that took them down. There are plenty of hindsight arguments to be made, that is not the purpose of this review. Instead, I want to talk about the story I didn't know. The story of the Special Forces Operation in Afghanistan that constituted the first American response to the attacks.
While the rest of the world was still reeling from the unprecedented attacks on the World Trade Center, a small group of special forces soldiers at Fort Campbell, Kentucky began preparations to deploy. Captain Mitch Nelson (Chris Hemsworth) and his combat tested CWO, Hal Smith (Michael Shannon) fought for their team to be among the first to be deployed to the border of Afghanistan. After sorting out some bureaucracy, the team is selected to deploy. After briefing with Colonel Mulholland (William Fichtner), the green Captain is selected to lead a team into Afghanistan to assist General Dostum (Navid Negahban) in destroying the Taliban/Al Qaeda stronghold that has supplanted the Northern Alliance. It is a mission that experts expected to take two years and cost many lives. Captain Nelson says he can do it in three weeks with his 12 men. His team is selected over several teams led by combat veterans.
There are numerous obstacles facing the team. The greatest of which being the distrust between Captain Nelson and General Dostum. The team was sent to help the General by calling in air support to allow the General's troops to engage after the enemy positions have been softened. The situation on the ground requires action, pressing the men into battle. The use of air support and maximizing effect with tactical superiority, the small group of soldiers assist the cobbled together Afghani forces in defeating a hardened, heavily armored Taliban force.
At heart, 12 Strong is a war story. If you don't like war stories, this film is probably not for you. The fact that it is based on a true story makes it that much more compelling. This is a war story, but it is not the war. It is a battle. The first of the war. It recounts a resounding success against insurmountable odds. It peppers in a bit of the cultural difficulties, mistrust and local political considerations against the steady-paced action of simulated war. The battle scenes were riveting. They were bold, tense and filled with just enough fog to give the action balance. The dialogue seemed a bit quippy at times, but mostly served to move the story forward while adding a bit of character development. The characters were believable. It's obvious Director Nicolai Fuglsig did his homework.
Chris Hemsworth seems to be shaping up to be this generations big action star. Yeah, there are others, but he has been getting some solid roles. In this one, his combination of swagger and confidence lend credibility to the role. I am a huge Michael Shannon fan. Shannon delivered a strong supporting actor performance in this film. He is the junior officer combat veteran that adds a counterpoint to Hemsworths brash captain role. Michael Pena is usually good as the guy who brings laughs to a film. In this film, his role is a bit more serious. I still want to laugh at him. But he was solid in a slightly straighter role. Negahban has an odd role. His character is complex, well crafted by the writers. He did a great job of being as likable as he is frustrating. The casting was on point for this film. It definitely aided the overall delivery of a solid script. Oh, and Hemsworth's real world wife, Elsa Pataky, makes a cameo in the film as well.
12 Strong is getting brutalized on IMDb. It seems people think the film is too boring, no chemistry, no character development, yada yada. Okay, I will give those folks one point. The character development beyond Nelson and Dostum could have been better. But with 12 men, it is hard to create a lot of backstory. The team splits up at times, so we do get to see some of the guys operating in smaller units. But I will admit that this film was focused more on the action than the characters. It seems that two hours and ten minutes would have been enough time to give us a bit more character development. However, this film moved fast enough that it did not feel more than two hours long. I am not sure what to say to those who found it boring. I don't see that assessment at all. In terms of ratings, the intense violence and battle scenes are adequate to earn this the R rating that most decent war films get. No sex, drugs and only a shot of vodka. So not much other than violence.
I feel a strong connection to 12 Strong. As a veteran, it is easy to sit back and criticize tactical issues or lack of fire discipline. But this film never drew that out in me. I was entertained. I enjoyed the action, I enjoyed the story and it was interesting to learn about the first victory of the war in Afghanistan. Whatever you feelings about the war, or war in general, if you like war films, this one probably won't disappoint. There are some great action sequences, good characters, although many not fully developed, and great visual appeal. I thought the movie was good enough to see at the theater. 7.5/10.
