12 Strong Manages To Deliver An Honorable Tribute To The Heroes It Glorifies On The Big Screen

      Whereas all movies are made with the sole purpose of entertaining their target audience, there are some that aim to go beyond doing just that and either serve as a history lesson for audiences who are unaware of the subject matter or events being presented, or the film aims to paint a powerful tribute to a moment that was nothing short of pure heroism. With 12 Strong, the latter was the aim for the filmmakers as they chose to give audiences a glimpse of the immediate aftermath of 9/11 with America's first response to the attacks. Boasted by a strong cast that includes the likes of Thor's Chris Hemsworth, Man Of Steel's Michael Shannon, Ant-Man And The Wasp's Michael Pena, and Armageddon's William Fitchner, 12 Strong aims to be something more than just a standard and typical war flick that comes out every other year in hopes of replicating the same success as previous films such as Lone Survivor, Clint Eastwood's American Sniper or Michael Bay's 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. The result however, is both an entertaining and decent war flick that does manage to pay tribute to the person's it aims to celebrate its story with.

      Based on a true story, the plot for 12 Strong centers around an American Army Special Forces team, that's ordered into Afghanistan to destroy the Taliban in 2001, immediately following the 9/11 attacks on U.S soil. Much like with the previous modern war films mentioned along with 12 Strong, the films are designed to reach a specific target audience which tend to particularly aim towards both military buffs and conservative groups. Those are the core groups who will get the most enjoyment out of the film as casual moviegoers will find entertainment in the films story though probably won't consider it anything more than just an honorable tribute to the first responders of 9/11. What 12 Strong has going for it is the appeal of its strong cast, all whom turn in believable performances along with genuinely feeling as if they're paying tribute to a piece of history, that's essentially been swept under the rug for years due to the main focus being on the 9/11 and the politics that followed regarding the war on terrorism. One can tell upon watching the film that it was made with the most honorable intentions behind it, which ultimately makes it succeed despite feeling as if the story, however thrilling it comes off as being at times, feels as if it lacks depth with both it's subplots as well as characters at times. The film sometimes feels as if it falls into the trap of relying on generic cliches to fill out its promising story that sometimes feels padded. The strength of the story which also happens to be the heart of the film lies within the steady yet rocky partnership turned friendship between Chris Hemsworth's character Captain Mitch and head of the allied forces General Dostum played by Navid Negahban. The two men have clear and opposite views on how to disassemble the Taliban with them being shown to clash at times, but through the course of their mission, develop a mutual respect for each other. It's moments like the ones between those characters that make the story work while showing the strength of allied forces working together. Though certain aspects of 12 Strong may feel a bit familiar to audiences as it's already been done in other films despite the films story being a true event, it ultimately sets out what it aimed to do which is to honor it's soldiers turned warriors in their first mission to disassemble the Taliban since the September 11th attacks and does so in a reasonably solid fashion.

      One of the films strongest elements outside of its devotion to bringing its inspiring story to life is the likeable and noteworthy performances of its main ensemble cast with Chris Hemsworth being front and center in his role as special forces commander Captain Mitch Nelson. Here,
Hemsworth proves to be a strong leading man with both his steady and no nonsense persona. His character is effective in showing the anger, frustration, and desire of what happened to his country while wanting to do something about it. He's also shown to be going against roadblocks being put up either by the military or his allied partner General Dostum. Navid Nagahban delivers the second strongest performance in the film next to Hemsworth as the wise General Dostum, who points out to Nelson that he can't win against the Taliban as a solider but as a warrior. Both actors showcase strong chemistry and provide the film with the heart and soul that's needed for the audience to connect with the story and characters. The films supporting cast rises to the occasion of the main leads with Michael Shannon and Michael Pena turning in noteworthy performances as assistant team leader Hal Spencer and intelligent Sergeant First Class Sam Diller. Other noteworthy performances are Trevante Rhodes as First Class Sergeant Ben Milo, William Fitchner as Colonel Mulholland, and Elsa Pataky in a small though effective role as Mitch's wife Jean Nelson. The cast as a whole has much to do with why this film works as well as it does with everyone genuinely appearing to respect the story they're telling and want to do so in the most honorable way. Each actor and actresses makes the most of their roles while adding something extra to the film in an effort to elevate it from feeling like another standard and routine war flick.

      As far as the films directing and technical aspects go, Nicolai Fuglsig does a solid job overall of transporting audiences back to 2001 along with creating a feeling of realism and believability to the story with the films shaky cinematography. Right from the start of the film, Fuglsig creates an atmosphere that feels tense and nail-biting as he opens the film with footage showing the previous attacks on American soil leading up to 9/11, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. He aims to inform the audience who may not be familiar with those events while introducing the main key characters that will play central to the films story. With showing Hemsworth's character at his home with his family upon learning of the 9/11 attacks, the film aims to make audiences remember the feeling of both fear and vulnerability that day brought as well as the desire for justice as shown to be Hemsworth and his team's motivation for taking their mission. Fuglsig does well with conveying those emotions with those key scenes in the film, along with showing how dangerous the men's mission was as it wasn't guaranteed they would come home alive, hence making their temporary goodbyes to their families rather difficult for them to deliver. The films score by Llorne Balfe works well and proves to be effective in regards to balancing out the intensity of the story along with the films dramatic moments. The films editing works well overall in regards to giving the film a pacing that keeps them both engaged as well as being at the edge of their seat despite its 129 minute running time. The films sequences of war are well-shot and choreographed with impressive sound effects enhancing the realism of the scenes mixed with the strong performances from its cast. The end scene in particular is well-executed. In terms of directing, Nicolai Fuglsig succeeds in delivering an intensely effective war film, that glorifies both the mission as well as the heroism of its main stars. However as hard as his efforts are in trying to make the film something more than just a standard typical modern era war flick, that's ultimately what it ends up being as the film lacks the visceral approach that both Lone Survivor and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi presented audiences.

      The films screenplay by Ted Tally and Peter Craig works well enough to flesh out the entire story and characters, though one can def feel that the story was given the Hollywood treatment in which certain events were presented as being larger than life compared to what actually happened. The first 30 mins of the film does well with establishing all the key players of Hemsworth's team with the audience growing attachments to these men outside of the battlefield with showing them around their families. This is a wise move on the writers part as it raises the stakes for the audience in regards to what's at risk with the team choosing to follow through with their mission. The script does well with showing the clash between both American and Middle Eastern culture as the American soldiers had to adapt to a new way of fighting their opponents, which involved riding on horses in the form of warriors. The culture clash is also emphasized with the conflict between Mitch and Dostum as Nelson's character is shown to get increasingly frustrated with the way Dostum pursues the Taliban, while feeling that they're not always on the same page in regards to sharing the same information and strategies. It's the key moments where Dostum shows Nelson his former home and explains what was done to his family by the Taliban, that makes the audience understand the perspectives of the two men with both having experienced pain and loss with their own people, and essentially wanting the same thing in the end. The overall mission is presented as being a hugely inspirational moment, that's emphasized as being one of the few great U.S victories in regards to the war on terror. The ultimate message that film delivers to the audience, is that its impossible to have war without bloodshed, and that it's difficult to defeat an enemy that one knows little about. The film minimalizes the role of the antagonists, but what it does show is effective enough into making the audience immediately disliking and wanting Hemsworth's team to succeed with their mission due to how dangerous the Taliban are presented in the story. Despite the inevitable liberties that Hollywood was bound to take with the films story, the writers do a good enough job of ultimately making the story work as well as hamming down on the patriotism aspect of it.

     Overall, 12 Strong may not be the groundbreaking nor unforgettable war flick that it aspires to be with it even feel a tad pretentious at times, but there's ultimately enough presented on the screen to make it worthwhile for those who are looking for a compelling war story that's exciting and informative. Nothing about the film screams greatness or anything more than just solid entertainment, but its devotion to presenting its subject matter in the most appealing light possible make it worth watching. As stated before, this film has a specific target audience that it aims for and does so while conveying the appropriate emotions to make it a satisfying experience for them, as well as a thoroughly entertaining one for regular viewers. Though not as well done as some of the other recent war films based on current events that have been released, its also not a bad effort and is made watchable due to the strength of its cast along with the noble intentions of the filmmakers. For those who are most excited to see the film, that will most likely be enough.

Final Verdict: For war buffs and those who enjoy movies based around true events, 12 Strong is a solid flick that's worth watching largely due to its desire to entertain, glorify, respect, and ultimately honor its heroes.