The Movie: 12 Strong
The Director: Nicolai Fuglsig
The Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, Navid Negahban, Trevante Rhodes, Geoff Stults, Thad Luckinbill, Austin Hébert, Austin Stowell, Ben O'Toole, Kenny Sheard, Jack Kesy, Rob Riggle, William Fichtner, Elsa Pataky, Nate Boyer
The Story: 12 Strong tells the story of the first Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11; under the leadership of a new captain, the team must work with an Afghan warlord to take down the Taliban.
The Review:
With names like Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, William Fichtner, and Elsa Pataky on board, you might think this is another big time super hero movie filled with crazy special effects and high flying action. Well, it is but not the type that you would typically see filling multiplexes in malls across the country. This is a movie about real life heroes, heroes who fought back against terrorism and against seemingly impossible odds and Nicolai Fuglsig does a great job of translating this recently declassified story for the big screen.
With Jerry Bruckheimer on board as a producer, you know the movie is going to have that super glossy, ultra heroic look his movies are known for, and it certainly does, although it still comes across in a way that honors the men and their achievements without overly glorifying them. I really liked the casting with Hemsworth and Shannon leading the way although it would be nice to see more Hispanic actors get a chance to play prominent roles. Sure, I like Michael Peña as much as the next person, but he shouldn't represent almost every version of the Mexican male that we see in movies.
The Verdict:
12 Strong is a worthy effort in commemoration of the U.S. military's first response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and it is also a very entertaining war movie with lots of big moments and surprises from start to finish.
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