MOVIE OF THE WEEK (1/19/18): 12 STRONG

WATCH THE TRAILER(S) HERE: 

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, Navid Negahban, Trevante Rhodes, Geoff Stults, Thad Luckinbill, Austin Stowell, Ben O’Toole, Austin Hebert, Kenneth Miller, Kenny Sheard, Jack Kesy, Laith Nakli, Fahim Fazli, Yousuf Azami, Said Taghmaoui, Elsa Pataky, William Fichtner and Rob Riggle

WRITER(S): Ted Tally and Peter Craig (screenplay); Doug Stanton (novel Horse Soldiers on which the film is based)

DIRECTOR(S): Nicolai Fuglsig

WEB SITE: https://12strongmovie.com/#home

HERE'S THE STORY: Captain Mitch Nelson (Chris Hemsworth) has just filed his paperwork to go from active duty to a nice desk job ... And then came the events of Sept. 11, 2001. 

Wanting back in to serve his country and prevent another tragedy on America soil, Nelson is able to convince his superior (actual U.S. military veteran Rob Riggle) to let him, his good friend Hal Spencer (Michael Shannon) and the rest of their elite Special Forces team get back into the game. Problem is, they may have signed up for more than they bargained for once they learn their mission to stop the Taliban will not only involve getting dropped off behind enemy lines, but meeting up with a freedom fighter named General Dotsum (Navid Negahban) to lead them along on their journey. Throw in the fact that they will spend the majority of their mission on horseback and the odds look to be stacked against Nelson and company.

But in this inspired-by-true-events tale, odds are just something that make the story all the more interesting given what follows ...

WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? Chris Hemsworth fans; active military personnel and veterans; 9/11 historians; conservatives; people who like war movies in general

WHO WON'T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? Anti-war sympathizers; government conspiracy theorists; those who hate America's continued involvement in the Middle East; people who feel like they've seen everything there is to see in a war movie

SO IS IT GOOD, BAD OR JUST AWFUL? A solid (if yet not remarkable as the actual story the film is inspired by), 12 Strong is a modern military film that downplays the outside political implications as best it can to focus on its story ... With plenty of Call of Duty-inspired action sequences to keep audiences engaged if not inspired.

Hemsworth – continuing a streak of foreign actors delivering testosterone-fueled machismo with a strong, "I'm just doing the job that needs to be done because someone has to and it has to be done now" – hits all the marks as Captain Mitch Nelson, a man who seemingly has all the right answers but thankfully without any of the "I'm the coolest guy in the room" attitude too commonplace in movies like 12 Strong. Instead, his character is all family man, all "let's get this done" drive. Never too melodramatic, Hemsworth just sticks to the script (literally) and makes Nelson a man who just does what needs to be done and stays focused at every turn. Negahban and Hemsworth strike a good balance as the "who's going to learn from one another" leaders, which, while predictable, is palatable. 

While Hemsworth takes the lunchpail character role, Shannon is left to be the film's emotional center with Peña and Rhodes serving as the "let's add a joke here" supporting ethnic players. Thus, Shannon's path is easy to foreshadow yet is played with a respectable, mellow calm while Peña and Rhodes add some much needed levity. That's more than one can say about Elsa Pataky or any of the female characters' presence, however, as they are left little more to do than look worried and be proud of their men in their so-limited-is-it-really-even-necessary? screentime.

What 12 Strong could use most, however, is a sense of identity all its own. While the story of the Horse Soldiers is certainly interesting (and fine fodder for the big screen), the film itself lacks any stand-out moment to make it stand-out from any other 9/11-inspired hero retelling. It hits all the necessary marks, it brings about the same feeling this movie did (even though it was parodying movies like this) while trying its best to not come off like "MAGA" dogma.   

If there was just a little more focus on the lives of its characters instead of the standard snapshots we are given, 12 Strong would be a lot stronger homage to the real life men it depicts. 

OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):